Turning Saints Into the Sea
by Stepmother
Summary: James Potter is running out of time to win the heart of Lily Evans. In a last attempt to make her his, he formulates a secret plan. Will the whole thing blow up in his face? . . . Or will Lily have some secrets of her own?
1. Jokes on You

_**Turning Saints into the Sea **_

**Chapter One: Jokes on You **

Lily Evans froze as she walked into the Heads' Cart on the Hogwarts Express. Moments ago she had been called down to the head of the train as Head Girl by a letter. She had been sitting with her friend Melanie Owen, waiting for her other friend, Samantha Bjorn, when a fifth year prefect had knocked on the door and given her a note that read:

Miss Evans,

Please come to the first cart on the train as soon as possible to go over you and the Head Boy's duties.

Professor Minerva McGonagall

Shrugging, Lily had set off for the cart, meeting Sam on the way. After a quick 'hello,' she had entered the compartment to see _him _there.

James Potter.

Lily could practically feel the bile rising in her throat as she watched him look up from talking to Professor McGonagall. _What is_ he _doing here_, she asked herself over and over again. _Is this some kind of a joke_?!

"Ah Evans," McGonagall said, bustling over and sitting Lily down. "Come, sit down next to Potter, we're discussing your duties as a Head.

"Hi," Potter said, sticking out his hand. Lily hesitated, before grasping his hand briefly, pumping it once, then drawing back as if poisoned. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched to see how he reacted to her coldness. Shockingly, he didn't make a rude comment or look injured. He merely sat back down and began listening to McGonagall talk.

Bemused, Lily sat back as well and listened to the professor.

"You have patrols from nine o'clock to midnight every Monday and Wednesday, as well as a weekend patrol from eleven to three. You two share the same prefect duties as before (Miss Evans, I presume you will explain these to Mr. Potter) with a few exceptions; you have the ability to control the other prefects, along with planning the graduation ball, and I do hope you will not take advantage to your authority." She glanced at Potter before concluding. "That just about covers it. Oh, and you two will be expected to use the Heads' Dormitories, though it is understood if you choose not to. The password's _Befuddle_. Goodbye." The professor picked up her hat and turned to leave, before stopping for a moment. "It would also be best if no one else was allowed into the Dorms," she added.

Lily watched her leave before turning to Potter, thinking how she would phrase what she so dearly wanted to ask.

"How in Merlin's name did _you_ become Head Boy?" Lily practically shrieked.

Potter turned his head and surveyed her mildly. Lily felt herself blushing after realizing what she had just said. A smirk grew on his face and Lily was relieved that he wasn't angry at her.

"The same way you did. I got good grades and stayed away from trouble," Potter said, standing and stretching. Lily watched in mild fascination as his fingers practically touched the ceiling when he raised his arms.

"You did not stay away from trouble! You and Sirius Black were in detention practically every night!" she declared, standing up as well. Only then did she realize that she barely came up to his shoulder. Lily took a step back and looked straight into his face.

Potter laughed, and Lily felt goosebumps run across her arms and legs. "So glad of you to make a point to notice," he said, grinning at her.

She sputtered. "I did not _make a point_ to notice! I merely-"

"Sure," Potter said, looking out the window and laughing again.

Lily smacked his shoulder. "See? This is why you bug me so much! You just make those stupid little-"

"Evans, calm down," he said, smiling. "I was only kidding. I don't actually think you like me." He bent over to survey her expression.

Lily blushed again, before trying to redeem herself. Realizing that for once she couldn't think of a decent comeback, she huffed loudly, announcing she was going to go back to Melanie and Samantha. Potter made an exaggerated sweeping motion with his arms for her to leave and she stomped out, still blushing.

James watched Lily walk away in amusement, studying the way her red hair fell from its clip and down her back. She had looked so angry, so embarrassed when he accused her of liking him. Though he knew he shouldn't, he loved it when her green eyes flashed in annoyance.

He stretched again, considering his luck to have to spend this year in Hogwarts in the Heads' dorm, with _Lily Evans_ of all people.

He walked out of the compartment and down the hall until he reached his friends. Sirius Black was lazily drawing designs on the ceiling with his wand while lying on his back on the floor, Remus Lupin was playing with a pile of Self-Shuffling Tarot Cards, and Peter Pettigrew was working on a last minute essay on the Arbequinan Resurrection Bush and its many healing properties.

"Full moon again!" Remus said, throwing down the cards angrily. The cards sulkily flipped around until displaying eight wands pointing up, meaning to forgive and forget. He stuffed them into his bag before smiling tiredly at James and patting the seat next to him. James took it.

Sirius sat up. "So, how was the meeting with Evans?" he asked.

James shrugged and grinned. "She still hates me; she's just shocked that I made Head Boy." He actually wondered himself why Dumbledore had chosen him instead of someone with more experience as a good kid. Not that he was bad. The Marauder's and he weren't bad people or stupid for that matter. They just got their kicks in different ways than most people. At least that was how James looked at it.

"What about your plan?" Remus said, glancing at James.

James shrugged again. "I've narrowed down the list to Mira Yankovic, Juliana Hernandez, or Tamyra Szechwan. I'm just scared this whole thing'll blow up in my face." He shifted and looked at Sirius for advice.

Sirius's face was scrunched up in concentration. "Juliana Hernandez? Isn't that the girl with the really long black hair who dated Brandon Allard? The short one with big eyes?"

"That's her."

"You're really going out on a limb, Prongs. Are you sure it's worth it? Are you sure _she's_ worth it?" Remus asked with concern.

"Of course she's worth it," James dissmissed.

"Quick, how does the Arbequinan Resurrection Bush affect those with a personality disorder?" Peter asked anxiously. "I still need four inches and we're almost at Hogwarts."

James looked out the window in surprise; it was dark and the crescent moon shown through the trees clearly. "Hey, we're almost there. We better change." He reached into his knapsack and pulled out his robes as did the rest of the Marauders.

Lily smiled as she sat down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall with Samantha and Melanie. The train ride had consisted mainly of reminiscing about the summer's event, which had somehow migrated to the three of them chatting amiably about boys. _What else is new?_ Lily thought.

Apparently, Sam was taking an extreme liking to Carsyn Cocheta, a quiet boy with an enormous amount of curly brown hair and glasses. Melanie had snorted in disgust at her choice, declaring Carsyn unworthy of Sam, someone who was too quiet, before stating that if the two of them were together, they would just sit around and think. Sam hotly retorted "What's wrong with thinking?" causing Melanie to answer, "How is your relationship supposed to progress if you never do anything?"

"Mel's right, Sam. Carsyn wouldn't be a good choice. You need someone more alive, more . . . ostentatious," Lily interjected. "Someone who's not afraid to be loud and obnoxious." _Someone like Sirius Black_, she thought, before mentally kicking herself. Sam, though a wonderful person, wasn't capable of surviving in a relationship with someone like Black; they were just too . . . different.

She surveyed her friend sitting across from her. Samantha Bjord had wavy blonde hair that flowed down her back like a golden waterfall. Her eyes were a light green blue and shaped like a cat's. Sam was the perfect picture of a Michelangelo angel, however, instead of being a slag, she was shy, the kind of person one went to with a problem. _I could never put Sammy up to something like a relationship with_ Sirius Black, Lily silently assured herself.

Samantha Bjord turned slightly in her chair so she could observe the true object of her affections. There he was, sitting between James Potter and Peter Pettigrew, pretending to pay attention to Dumbledore giving his beginning of the year speech, but really flirting with girls from other houses.

Her breath caught in her throat as she mentally memorized the curve of his jaw, the color of his hair, for her paintings, the ones Lily and Mel didn't know about. The ones she had been working on all summer, containing things she didn't want anyone to know, not even her parents. Sirius Black was a person she would give her right arm to paint.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he smiled at Mira Yankovic, a sixth year Hufflepuff, who grinned back coyly.

_Little slut_, Sam thought viciously. Mira with her stupid C-cup, glossy brown hair, and perfect teeth wasn't really all that much better than her, she mentally scolded herself.

Yeah. And I'm the secret fantasy of every other boy in the school. Sam ran her tongue over her bottom teeth, which were slightly overlapped. Nothing like _Mira_, whose teeth had apparently been magically enhanced until they were as white as the moon on the ceiling overhead.

Sam felt almost guilty for feeling things like this, feeling jealousy, lust, and something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Her friends had no idea she felt this way; to them, she had the sexual maturity of a celery stalk. A _dead_celery stalk. She couldn't even imagine how they would react to learning she desired _Sirius Black_, someone who apparently had many different interests, which he found in many different girls. And she was so incredibly boring he didn't even remember her name, though he had gone to school with her for seven years.

She stole another glance at Sirius, wishing he could even imagine how much she wanted him.

James looked over at Lily. Again. He watched Melanie Owen tap her, watched her turn around in her seat, listen to what Owen had to say, and smile questioningly. Suddenly, his robes seemed to be too small; every time he moved, his body felt like it was being pricked with a white hot needle.

He inwardly sighed as she turned around. Lily had never taken notice to someone like him. However, if everything in his plan went correctly, she would be noticing him soon. Very soon.

Until then, he just had to put up with the ignoring.

"Please join me in welcoming the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Barbra Merritt," Professor Dumbledore said as a stout woman with short, curly black hair stood. She smiled as the hall clapped, before sitting down between Professor McGonagall and Professor Urania, the Astronomy Teacher.

"Now that that's over, we shall now dine on the fabulous meal the kitchens have prepared for us. Enjoy!" Dumbledore clapped his hands, causing food to immediately fill the plates set on the tables.

Without another thought concerning her, James loaded his plate with everything he could reach while chatting with his fellow Gryffindors about his summer.

"We visited Ireland and visited some relatives. It was pretty boring, but we ended up seeing some leprechauns, so that sort of evened it out," Shannon Nevan explained to Rhea Sofronio. Shannon's identical twin sister, Erin, who was sitting three seats down, turned to yell down the table, "Are you serious? The leprechauns sucked too!"

"I spent most of the summer at home, due to my issues," Remus told James unhappily.

James grinned. "It's not like I had a wonderful summer either. I mostly stayed at home too." Remus gave him a questioning look.

"The plan . . ." James said, causing Remus to nod in remembrance, before a slow smile reluctantly climbed his face.

After dessert, Lily sought out Potter. He was talking to Pettigrew about something or another. She tapped his back.

"Potter, we need to help the Prefects and get to our dorms," she said, trying to some authoritative, though she truly felt flustered, considering that he was pressed up against her from all the students trying to get through the doors.

Potter merely nodded, starting to leave with the crowd.

_That's odd_, thought Lily. _He'd usually try to ask me out, or at least acknowledge my presence_.

Was it possible that James Potter . . . didn't like her anymore?

Lily waited for an immense feeling of relief to wash over her body, but it never came. She told her brain again and again of the possibilities, but still felt no satisfaction. Instead, she felt a bit hollow, like someone had taken a pickaxe and hacked away at some of her insides.

Frustrated, she followed Potter through the crowds, mentally scolding herself about being angry that he didn't like her.

_It's just been such a big part of your life, Potter liking you. You're just not used to it_.

Lily sighed, knowing very, very deep down she was trying to convince herself of the unspeakable.

After helping the prefects with their duties, Lily and James set off for the Heads Dorm. "Befuddle," James said to the portrait, which was of an exotic maiden riding an ostrich. She nodded, before swinging open to reveal the common room.

Lily surveyed the room with a critical eye. Two sofas were in front of a popping fireplace. The room was a comfortable scarlet, and two staircases branched off to separate Lily and James's separate bedrooms.

James walked over to examine the bookcase. Lily, thinking that it didn't really matter, looked over at him.

His hair was black and incredibly messy, sticking out in every direction and falling slightly onto his neck. _It's longer than last year_, Lily found herself deciding, before kicking herself. _She could not_ take time to remember what James Potter looked like, or how he used to look in comparison. It just wasn't something she had the time to spend on.

"Well, time for us to go to bed!" Lily announced loudly. Too loudly. She found herself standing on the stairs like an idiot as Potter turned around to stare at her incredulously.

"Bed? It's eight fifteen," he said slowly, as if Lily were especially dim-witted.

She regained composure. "Yes, well, I think that as Head Girl and Boy, we should try to set a good example for the other students, and being fresh to start the day is one of them." _Score one_, Lily thought smugly.

Potter's mouth twitched, like he was fighting off a smile. "Evans, its Wednesday. We have rounds."

Oh.

Lily felt her face reddening. _A comeback_, her brain furiously screamed. _We need a comeback NOW!!!!!_

"I knew that."

_Nice, Lily_.

Potter took a shaky breath to keep from laughing and turned away. "I'm going to do the rounds. If you want to go to sleep, I'll cover for you, but-"

"I'm coming," she said hurriedly, stomping down the steps and brushing past him ferociously. Lily decided she was either slowly but surely contracting a fatal disease or had a major case of PMS. She chose the former.


	2. Fun Phobias

_**Turning Saints Into the Sea**_

**Chapter Two: Fun Phobias**

The hallway was dark and quiet. Lily quietly moaned. She hated rounds. She hated the empty corridors almost as much as she hated the silence.

But the silence was worse.

Lily looked over her shoulder. No one was there. Again.

_Get your mind off it, Lily. Remember what the therapist said. Imagine something you like. _

James Potter jumped to mind.

Sputtering disgustedly, she tried to push him away and think of something else. However, the image of Potter looking at her like she was an idiot stuck in her mind. The embarrassment overwhelmed her as she mentally studied his face, his height, his shoulders.

_His shoulders. _

Lily elbowed a wall, not even caring about the pain that sliced up her arm as she hit her funny bone. Potter's shoulders did _not_ concern her! At all! No matter how . . .

"Stop it!" she shrieked, slapping her head, trying to clear images that she _definitely_ wasn't supposed to be picturing.

"Stop what?"

Lily froze after hearing a voice behind her. Without thinking, she turned around, grabbed her wand, and screamed _"Immobulis!_" as loud as she possibly could.

James Potter jumped out of the way to avoid the spell. "Evans! What are you doing?"

But Lily couldn't move; it was as if she herself had been hit. Fear washed out all rational thought. She fell to the ground from dizziness, her heart beating out of control, her skin feeling like it was on fire. Tears fell from her eyes as she silently lay on the ground, trembling.

James ran over to her. "Lily!" He shook her. "What's wrong?"

She couldn't breath . . . The darkness was surrounding her . . .

Lily woke up in the hospital wing. It took her a moment to realize where she was; on a bed, next to James Potter dozing off in a chair.

She sat up. What had happened? Had she had a panic attack? How long had she been asleep? Questions flooded her brain as she tried to concentrate on the past few hours.

"So you're awake!" Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse said, bustling over. "Gave Mr. Potter there quite a scare."

Lily looked at Potter, who had started when he heard his name. "What?" he said, jumping up and looking around, before focusing on her.

"Evans! Are you alright? What happened back there?"

She felt herself blushing. It had been so long since this had happened before. Why, oh why did it have to happen at Hogwarts, her first day, no less?

"Miss Evans is a combination of sedatephobic and lygophobic," Madam Pomfrey said without waiting for her to answer the question. A mixture of gratefulness and annoyance combined as Lily watched the nurse dollop out a clear syrup-like substance onto a spoon and hand it to her.

Potter looked at them expectantly. "And that would mean . . ."

"Sedatephobia is the fear of silence, and lygophobia is the fear of being in dark places. So basically, I have an irrational fear for dark, quiet corridors. I've been afraid of them since before I can remember" Lily shoveled the spoon into her mouth, gagging at the overly sweet taste, before chugging the glass of water Madam Pomfrey had given her.

Potter stared. "You fear dark, quiet corridors and you've been doing rounds for almost three years now? Why?"

"I need to overcome my fears, according to the doctor. The only way for me to truly be comfortable with dark, quiet spaces is for me to be exposed to them regularly. Hogwarts seemed like the perfect place for exposure," she explained, growing more uncomfortable by the minute.

He sat back and kneaded his eyes with his palms, processing the information. "Has this happened before?"

Lily shook her head. "No, not recently. In our first year, I was really freaked out, but mainly at night. Staying in the common room night after night not only kept me away from the hallways, it also squashed any desire to sneak around after hours.

"Fifth year was the hardest; rounds started. But I explained my problem to Professor Dumbledore, and I gradually got used to roaming around. It's just that today was really stressful, and stress usually makes me forget all my work on getting over my fears, and then you startled me."

Potter looked down. "Sorry. I just heard you yelling, and I wondered what was wrong. I won't scare you again."

She smiled to herself. "It's okay." She looked around. "What time is it?"

Potter checked his watch. "It's almost 2:30. We should be getting back the dorms."

Madam Pomfrey seemed to materialize at Lily's side. "Absolutely not! This girl has just suffered from an anxiety attack. She is in no condition to be going back into the hallways."

The absurdity of the statement was something they both found quite amusing. "Its okay, Madam Pomfrey. I'm fine walking as long as someone's there." She looked at Potter questioningly.

"Oh. I'll walk Evans to the dorms," Potter volunteered.

Madam Pomfrey looked angrily at the two of them. "C'mon, Madam Pomfrey, I have class in six hours anyway, and it won't be any help if I'm here instead of my real bed," Lily begged.

"Oh, alright," she grumped. "But hurry along."

Lily and James collected their robes and started out the door. They headed towards the portrait of the African maiden. James was the one who talked first.

"Does anyone else know about your phobias?" he asked quietly.

"Sam and Melanie do," Lily said, smiling slightly. "I needed an excuse not to sneak out with them at night in our first year." She shrugged, but James could tell she felt separated since she couldn't participate in things with her friends.

"I'm not a rule follower by nature," Lily continued. "Before I came to Hogwarts, my parents considered me the wild child. I was always the one performing ridiculous stunts. I once almost set the house on fire. My sister Petunia was kind of what they wanted me to be. She was older, smarter, prettier, better. I was the family rebel. But when I got the Hogwarts letter, it was like the roles were reversed. Petunia was no longer the special one. She hated me for it. She still does.

"Anyway, since I couldn't go out at night, breaking the rules, I decided that I would just start over. I promised myself I would do anything to get Petunia to understand I wasn't the freak she branded me. After a few years, I stopped caring what she thought of me. The rule following comes naturally now." Lily paused to take a breath.

James stared at her. "Wow."

Lily laughed, glancing at him. "I know. Never thought there might be a story behind the model citizen, did you? No one does."

He was silent for a moment. "Wait. _Samantha Bjorn_ tried to convince you to sneak out at night? She always seemed like the sane one of you all," James inquired.

She laughed again. "Okay, well Melanie was more the wild one. She tried to convince us to break the rules once in a while, live a little, you know?"

It was James's turn to laugh. "I'm best mates with Sirius Black. Of course I don't know _anything_ about disregarding rules."

They reached the portrait. "_Befuddle_," Lily said. The fire had almost burned out as they walked inside, and Lily felt a chill crawl up her spine.

"Well . . . Goodnight," James said, glancing at Lily hesitantly.

"Yeah. See you in the morning," she replied, before turning and hurrying up the stairwell leading to her bedroom.

In her room, Lily pressed her forehead against the door. "What is wrong with me?" she murmured against the wood.

Her eyes fell on her clock. _2:51,_ she thought miserably. _So that's what, 5 ½ hours of sleep?_

Without even removing her shoes, Lily collapsed on her bed and immediately dozed off.

James Potter stared into the glowing coals until they burned his eyes. Lygophobic and sedatephobic. Lily Evans just didn't seem to fit into that category. She had always been so smart, so fearless, so . . . surreal. The fact that she had weaknesses was something James had always known, but never really accepted. Sort of like death.

Lily had phobias. It hit James that she could be hiding hundreds of other things. He realized how little he knew about her.

The clock struck 3 AM and he looked up. Only 5 ½ hours of sleep on the first night; a new record. He headed upstairs after taking a long look at her door.

_BRIIIIIIIING!!!!_

SMASH!

Lily sat up snarling as her alarm clock screamed that it was seven AM. 

Viciously, she turned to her clock, clawing her hair out of her eyes. It was totally demolished, cogs and odd metal pieces falling all over her desk.

She looked at her fist, which was now bleeding, and quickly magicked a bandage around it. 

Fourteen minutes later she walked down the stairs to walk down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Samantha and an extremely tired Melanie were already sitting down, eating oatmeal and bacon.

"What happened to your hand?" Sam asked, pointing at the bandage.

Lily laughed bitterly. "I totally destroyed my alarm clock when it went off by smashing it with my hand. I'm so tired; I stayed up till 3."

"So! Did Potter rape you during the rounds?" Mel asked conversationally, standing up with her bowl and spooning more oatmeal into it.

Images of the night before hit Lily with a bang, and she felt herself crumpling in realization. James Potter knew about her . . . problem. What if he told the school? What would she do if something she had worked six years to keep a secret came out?

"I- . . . I had a panic attack last night," she whispered, looking down.

Sam froze in mid-chew and Melanie dropped her bowl. It shattered, sending porcelain and oatmeal in various directions.

"Shit," Melanie said, pulling out her wand to clean it up, before watching it all zoom in and become a bowl full of oatmeal again. She looked up into the brown eyes of Remus Lupin, who had his wand out.

Mel stared for a few seconds, before smiling. "Thanks," she said, sitting down. He shrugged, turning and talking to Pettigrew.

Melanie seemed to be in a daze as she ate her oatmeal quietly. "Oh my God!" she cried, realizing what had been going on before she broke the bowl. "Are you okay? Did Potter find out?"

"He was sort of the cause, but-" Lily began.

"WHAT? _He_ caused it? I'll kill him. Where is he?" Melanie shrieked, rising to look for Potter.

"No, he didn't purposefully do it. I was freaking out and-" Lily stopped, remembering what she had been thinking about _before_the panic attack.

"And . . .?" Sam said, indicating with her hand for Lily to continue.

"Um, I was starting to freak out because of all the darkness and he said something from behind me and I was surprised so I passed out," Lily finished lamely.

Sam gave her a look. She for one had realized all the gaps in Lily's story. "He just said something? Wasn't he supposed to be on his own rounds? What was he doing around you?" she asked.

"Yeah, didn't you picture something to get your mind off it?" Mel added.

"I tried but all I could come up with was Potter, alright?!?" Lily huffed, the pressure from her friends' stares fogging her sense of judgement.

"You pictured _Potter_?" Melanie cried.

"God, Mel, loud enough?" Lily shushed as heads from all four tables turned in their direction to see what she had yelled about.

"Who pictured me?"

James Potter sat down at the table across from theirs.

Lily felt herself pale.

"Who says we're talking about you?" Melanie snapped.

"How many other Potters are in this building?" Potter countered, raising an eyebrow and dishing himself porridge.

"Thirty two," Mel said. Potter laughed, turning to talk to Pettigrew, Lupin, and Black.

Professor McGonagall passed out schedules as they continued breakfast. "Double Potions with the Slytherins first period," groaned Melanie, pretending to gag. Lily felt the same; though she was excellent at potions, the last thing she needed was four hours of Professor Slughorn breathing down her neck. Especially at 9 AM.

"Care of Magical Creatures on Monday . . . astronomy every Tuesday at midnight . . . what do you have for Fridays?" Sam said vaguely, scanning her paper for similarities in their schedules.

"I have . . . arithmancy," Lily answered.

"What time?" Potter asked, butting into the conversation.

Lily gave him an annoyed look. "What do you have?" she asked, feigning interest.

"11:30."

Lily looked at her paper. It read Friday-11:30-1:00-Arithmancy.

"I have it at one," she lied, just to see his reaction.

Potter shrugged.

"Um, hating to be a wet blanket, but what are you going to tell Potter when he realizes that you two actually have the same class?" Mel said, tapping Lily's paper.

"I'll say I changed classes," Lily responded. "I have to go, Charms is next." She started to leave.

"I'll come with you," Sam offered, rising out of her seat as well. 

The two girls set off to the third floor. When they arrived at the door, they realized Sirius Black and James Potter were waiting along with the other students.

"Weren't you guys still eating breakfast when we left for this class?" Sam asked slowly as they walked up to them.

Black looked at Potter. "So we walked around you. Maybe you just walk really, really slow."

Sam looked at him incredulously. "I'm so sure," she scoffed. Lily was astounded. Samantha Bjorn _never_ said anything that offended anyone.

Black walked over until he was towering over her. Sam, being around five foot two, tried her hardest not to be intimidated by Black's height.

"What did you say?"

"I said 'I'm so sure,' as in I don't doubt for a minute that you're lying about walking around us," she countered, tilting her head far up so she could meet his gaze.

He stared at her for a few seconds, before slowly backing down from the blonde. "Since when can you talk, Bjorn?" he muttered.

_He knows my name, he knows my name!!!_

Sam was giddy with happiness she failed at concealing. She practically skipped to her seat next to Lily, who was still staring at her as if she had three heads.

"Are you drunk?" Lily asked her. She looked so worried Sam burst out laughing.

"Seriously. Have you consumed alcohol in the past six hours?" Lily looked downright frightened now.

Sam sighed, kissed her hand, and patted Lily's cheek with it. "I love you, Lily," she said happily.

_He knows my name!!_

Lily's hand shot into the air. "What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"Taking you to the Hospital Wing. Professor Flitwick!" Lily called to the tiny professor.

"No! I'm not drunk! Put your arm down!" Sam said, diving for her hand.

"What seems to be the problem, Miss Evans?"

Professor Flitwick walked over to the two girls.

"Samantha Bjorn isn't feeling well. May I take her to the Hospital Wing?" Lily asked politely.

"Yes, but make it fast, we're learning Disillusion Charms today and I don't want you to miss them," he said, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.

Lily dragged her outside the room away from the prying eyes and practically pushed her up against the wall. "What is wrong with you? You're acting insane! Did someone slip something into your food?" She tried to look into Sam's face.

"No, its nothing like that. I'm just happy, that's all. Is there something wrong with that?" Sam said, irritated that her good mood was being spoiled because Lily was too observant as a friend.

"Sammy, when you're usually happy, you hum to yourself and smile. You're acting like . . ." Lily's eyes widened.

"Oh my God! You're acting like you're in love! Who is he?"

Sam smiled mischievously. "Why would you think that?"

"The only guys we've encountered today have been Potter, Black, and Lupin. During lunch when Mel spilt her oatmeal you didn't seem happy, nor when Potter asked about my schedule. But you've been acting strange since you fought with . . ." Lily looked up, stunned.

"Sirius Black?!?" Lily shrieked. "Why?!?"

"Why do you think I like _Black_ of all people?" Sam said, annoyed Lily had caught on so fast. She slid down the wall onto the floor.

"Because right after Black and you got into that fight, you came away grinning like a madman."

"So I like him a little."

"A little?!?" Lily sat down next to her friend. "Sam, you were skipping for God's sake!"

"Alright, a lot."

The girls sat in silence for a few moments. "What are you going to do about it?" Lily asked, turning to her.

"What can I do? Black's popular, I'm not; the relationship ends there." Sam looked miserable.

"Well, maybe it's for the best," Lily said slowly. Sam looked at her in shock. "I mean, Black's a major playboy. What good would come out of you two going out? He'd just break your heart anyway."

"But . . ."

"Maybe you should go out with other people," Lily suggested hurriedly, before Sam burst into tears. "Then you could get experience, and if Black likes you, he'll be jealous."

Sam's face lit up at the endless possibilities.

Lily was inwardly crushed by her friend's enthusiasm. Logically, the scheme seemed simple, but the chances of Sam getting a real boyfriend, and then making Sirius Black jealous with him were remarkably slim. For now though, she decided to let Sam dream. Besides, they needed to get back to class.


	3. Misinterpretations

_**Turning Saints Into the Sea**_

**Chapter Three: Misinterpretations**

Remus:

Remus Lupin looked up again. There she was, chewing on her quill as she concentrated on her homework, her black hair falling onto the parchment. She looked so involved, so . . . content.

Her skin was paler than snow, like porcelain. Remus's face turned hot as he remembered the look of surprise she had given him that morning when he had fixed her bowl, her eyes so dark they looked black.

What he would do to have her look at him like that again.

"Moony? You zoning?" Someone snapped their fingers in his face.

He looked over to see Sirius looking at him questioningly. Sirius's hair was dark and long, just like hers. He was outgoing, just like her. The two of them had so much more in common than he did with her.

And nothing he ever did would change that fact.

He was more like the blonde one, Sam. She was quiet and collective. She hung back while her friends acted irrationally. Sort of like himself. 

Sam was pretty, in a wholesome kind of way. Her blonde hair was long and wavy, like gold, and her eyes were blue. True, she didn't have the natural confidence like _her_, but Sam was more refined.

Melanie Owen. Even her name sounded graceful.

Remus stole one last look at Melanie, before closing his book and starting to the Boys' Dorm.

Melanie:

Melanie Owen glanced up from her parchment to watch him leave, his whole body moving with an animal sort of grace she could never possess, being incredibly clumsy as she was. He just . . . flowed. Like satin. No, that wasn't right. Like milk.

_Milk. How romantic._

She wished she could be like that. Wished she could be mysterious like him.

His hair was a sandy brown, his eyes the same color. She of all people would know what it was like having the same eye and hair color. Hers was black. Black like the night.

Unlike Sam or Lily.

Lily wasn't someone she had to worry about; she was too busy avoiding James Potter to be interested in _him_. But Sam . . .

Sam was everything she wasn't. Sam had wavy blonde hair, while her hair just sat there, straight as a pin. Sam had blue eyes that seemed perpetually happy, while Melanie's black eyes made her look like the devil.

Sam was short and pretty. Melanie was tall and average.

Average. How she hated that word.

Average was her grade in Potions. Average was her weight (unlike _Sam_, who was thin). Average was her appearance, according to Mitchell Bradslain.

Sometimes, she just wanted to be above average, like Lily or Sam. She wanted to be beautiful. Beautiful enough for _him_ to notice her for once in her life, instead of the usual sleazebags that circled her.

Remus Lupin. Remus Lupin.

Sirius:

Sam had her back to him. Why wouldn't she turn around so he could at least see her face before he left for the night? The Gryffindor Common Room was becoming less crowded by the minute, she had the whole room.

Sirius Black huffed loudly. It was almost 10:30 and he hadn't even started his Transfiguration essay. It was his best class, and thanks to _her_ he couldn't concentrate. He was too busy watching her try to learn while Lily Evans and Melanie Owen pestered her about something or another. They had said something that caused her to blush and snap at them, which they laughed at in delight.

Sam had caught his eye once, before hurriedly looking at Professor McGonagall, ignoring him.

He looked down at the parchment wearily. Third day back and he already had a mountain of homework that just kept piling up. Thank God for Quidditch, which started in a few weeks. He had been named Captain; something to gloat about to James.

Suddenly an idea hit him. He stood and walked over to their table, sitting down in the chair across from hers, next to Owen's.

Sam looked at him, her blue eyes cautious. "What do you want?" she asked.

"Do you understand anything about interspecies transfiguration? I missed everything McGonagall said during today's lesson," he said casually, holding his breath.

She hesitated before scooting her chair next to his and pulling out her text book. "It's all in mental concentration. If you can't picture what you're transfiguring, it won't work. Well, it may work, but it won't work _well_."

Sam flipped through the pages, landing on page 612, titled 'Interspecies Transfiguration.'

"It says here 'Interspecies transfiguration is one of the most difficult forms of transfiguration, because the properties of the two animals are that much more similar.' That means that since they're the same species, their qualities are alike."

Sirius watched her ramble on and on about the homework (which he had gotten after reading the first page). She seemed so into it, he didn't have the heart to tell her that she could stop.

" . . . So the spell's-" She suddenly halted, clapping a hand over her mouth. "Oh, my God! Did I just repeat the same thing over and over like three times?"

He laughed, nodding, enjoying her embarrassment.

She groaned, covering her face with her hands. "I'm sorry you had to put up with that. I just keep on talking when I get nervous or-" She looked up, horrified at her choice of words.

"I didn't mean you make me nervous! I mean that I was really shocked when you asked _me_ to help you, since boys don't usually ask me for _anything_ . . ."

At this point, Melanie had covered Sam's mouth with her hand. "Please excuse Miss Samantha for her incessant babbling; she has no experience in the field of men."

Sam ripped Owen's hand off her mouth. "I do so have experience!"

Owen rolled her eyes and smiled at him, as if to say _What can you do? _

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to be getting to sleep. See you two in the morning," he said, standing up and stretching. He grabbed his books and started for the stairs leading to the Boys' Dorms, before turning around and awkwardly calling, "Thanks for the lesson, Bjorn."

"Any time," Sam called back, grabbing a book and flipping to a random page.

In the dorm, Sirius paced around in his pajama pants, thinking. _Should I ask her out?_

Oh yeah, Samantha Bjorn is so_ your type._

What exactly is_ my type?_

Not Sam Bjorn. 

"Padfoot, calm down. You're wearing holes in the carpet," Remus said, glancing up from his Charms book.

_Remus is more Sam's type. Remus is smart._

I'm smart too!

Yeah, but you don't show it.

But I'm still smart.

But you get in trouble so much!

. . . So?

So, she probably goes for guys who're top notch model citizens.

Like her.

Exactly. 

Sirius grabbed his hair in frustration, sitting down on his bed. He needed to talk to James, badly.

James:

James Potter stared at his quill in a dazed fascination, doing anything to stall from the thirteen inch essay that was sitting in front of him.

"Prongs!" Someone was whispering his name harshly. "James Potter! Where are you?"

He looked up from his bed; the stairwell leading to the Head Boy's Dorm opened to form a passageway, in which Sirius Black was entering from.

"Sirius, it's past midnight. What are you doing here?" James whispered, standing to greet his friend.

"I have a problem," Sirius said.

James was taken aback; Sirius almost never had problems, and when he did, he certainly never turned to _him_.

"Um, what about?" James said, trying to seem open and caring.

"It's about . . . this girl I know," he said hesitantly, vulnerably.

James stepped back from shock. Sirius Black? _Girl problems?_ It wasn't natural . . . It couldn't be true . . .

"Um . . . Who is she?" James asked, fearing the answer.

"It doesn't matter," was his reply. "She's a Gryffindor and in our year, and I think she likes me."

James stared. "So ask her out."

"I can't ask her out!" Sirius cried. "She would never go out with someone like me!"

"What's wrong with you? Why wouldn't she date you?"

"I'm not her type."

This information didn't comprehend in James's brain. "I thought _all_ girls were your type."

Sirius growled in frustration, running his hands through his hair. "So did I! Until her."

"Who is she?"

Sirius hesitated, before turning to James.

"Samantha Bjorn."

Sam:

"Samantha Bjorn! Where are you?" Lily had snuck into the Girls' Dorm.

Sam turned her head to face her friend. She was sitting on her bed, thinking about him.

"Lily? What're you doing here?"

"I came over. Sirius Black came into James Potter's Dorm, why can't I do the same thing?" Lily halted, realizing what she just said, and Sam's face reluctantly spilt to reveal a grin.

"No! I meant 'Why can't I sneak into my friends' Dorms late at night! Not 'Why can't I sneak into Potter's Dorm. I mean, 'Why . . . ' Oh, never mind.' Lily flopped onto Sam's bed. "Where's Mel?"

Sam rolled her eyes, playing with Lily's red hair. "Mel? She's thinking about someone or another downstairs. I think she likes him."

"Who?"

"_Him_."

Lily sat up. "Sirius?" Sam nodded.

"Well, I don't really think he's her type," Lily said slowly, sounding false even to her own ears.

Sam gave her a look that said _Suuuuuure._ "Of course she's his type! There couldn't _be_ a more perfect couple! They're both attractive, clever, _popular_." Sam spat out the last word as if it were a curse. "Lily, I can_not_ compare to her!"

Lily sighed, pulling Sam into a hug. "Of course you can! You're every bit at pretty and smart as Melanie. Smarter, even."

Sam snorted. "Book smart."

"Smart. That's all that matters. Black-"

"_Sirius_"

"-would be an idiot to look over what a wonderful person you are. And besides," Lily said, standing up, "you're not even sure she likes him. It could be a false alarm."

"She might not like him, but _he_ certainly likes _her_."

Lily seriously doubted that. "What makes you say that?"

"He came over for help with his Transfiguration homework and sat down _right next_ to her!"

"So? Maybe he wanted help."

"It's his best subject," Sam explained exasperatedly, as if Lily had nothing better to do than to learn all about Sirius Black's school life. "Why would he ask for help for his best subject?"

Lily sat down yet again. "Maybe your good looks kept him distracted all during class, and he was so smitten with you he just had to ask you for help with his homework, to spend more time with you!"

Sam laughed bitterly. "Probably true, only with one difference. _Mel's_ good looks kept him distracted. So he wanted to ask her for help, and I just happened to help him instead. Oh my God, _I_ helped him! He probably hates me now 'cause I ruined his chance with my best friend." She groaned, burying her face in her pillow.

"I don't think he likes Mel, Sam," Lily said, but suddenly a lot of things made sense. She had caught him staring in their direction a lot. Melanie had been with them. He suddenly wanted to include the three of them in conversation (okay, he didn't really _want_ to, but he didn't seem extremely annoyed when they did). If he liked Melanie, his actions were certainly explained. But that didn't help in Sam's case.

"What about the jealousy thing we had been discussing?" Lily said, trying to change the subject.

Sam sat up. "What?"

"The jealousy plan! To make Black jealous!"

"First of all, his name is Sirius. Second, how am I supposed to make him jealous if he doesn't like me in the first place? If my suspicions are correct, he's in love with Melanie."

"But if he sees you with another guy, his true feelings for you will surface and he'll totally forget about Mel and love you!" Lily was trying as hard as she could to convince Sam.

"Who could I date that would make him jealous?" Sam asked incredulously.

Lily stopped for a second, considering the possibilities. She suddenly sat up.

"I have it."


	4. WHAT!

_**Turning Saints Into the Sea**_

**Chapter Four: WHAT??**

"Are you sure about this?"

It was the next morning. Sam was standing in front of the mirror, trying to make her hair look passable while frantically talking to Lily, who was attempting to calm her down.

"ARGH!" Sam snarled, "It's hopeless! I can't do it!" She twirled around dramatically to face Lily, who took a couple steps back in alarm.

"I can't do it, Lil! I'm just not that type of girl! I mean, what if he says 'no?' What if he laughs at me and tells everyone? What if-"

"Stop it, Samantha," Lily interrupted, cutting off her friend. "It's going to be fine. Just think of Bla- Sirius's expression when he sees-"

"I know, I know. I'm just so nervous." Sam wrung her hands in anxiety.

"Here, let me help. I'll get a clip," Lily soothed, patting her on the back.

Sam watched Lily in the mirror as she rummaged around in her trunk for the hair piece. Lily always seemed so happy, so cool and collected. Melanie did too.

_What I wouldn't give to be like that. _

"Ha! Gotcha." Lily pulled out a blue clip etched in silver and handed it to Sam expectantly. "Well? Put it in!"

Sam slowly twisted her long hair up and pushed the clip into it. The rich cerulean and flecks of silver matched perfectly with her eyes.

_How typical. Why the hell must my eyes be so blue?_ Sam thought in dismay.

"Doesn't it seem like the wrong color?" she asked in desperation to buy more time.

Lily looked at her as if she were insane. "Are you kidding me? That clip was _made_ for you! It goes perfectly."

"I guess so . . ." Sam sighed.

"Oh, c'mon Sam. Stop stalling and get out there!"

Sam nodded dejectedly and allowed Lily to lead her down to breakfast. Lily then gently nudged her friend through the door and to the Gryffindor table, where he sat.

Sam felt like her heart was flying at the top of her chest. She took deep breaths in order to calm herself, but nothing helped; she was downright scared.

"Lily, I can't . . ." she protested weakly, trying to walk away.

"Oh yes you can." Lily slapped the seat next to her.

Sam sat down, her heart racing.

Melanie was clumsily eating her corn flakes. She barely acknowledged their arrival. "Mm," she moaned, swallowing another spoonful. Her long hair was messily pulled back in a braid, which consequentially kept falling in her bowl.

Hands trembling, Sam reached for the orange juice; she wasn't hungry, though she hadn't eaten in around twelve hours.

Lily elbowed her slightly in the ribs.

Sam inhaled, holding in the breath of air as if to calm herself. Lily patted her on the back, causing her to let out the air.

She cleared her throat and looked directly at him; he looked up from his toast.

Sam opened her mouth, praying for the earth to swallow her up at that very second.

"Um," she said.

He raised an eyebrow, before returning to his meal.

_Um?! UM?!_

Is that the best you can do, Bjorn?? Sam thought, mentally kicking herself

"Wait," she cried, grabbing his shoulders before she lost her nerve forever. "Will you g-go out with me?"

Remus Lupin stared at Sam in shock.

"WHAT?!"

Melanie and Sirius both gawked at Sam, who returned them a cold glare. She tossed her hair and faced Remus, ignoring them.

"You heard me. Will you?" she asked, biting her lip.

Remus was confused. Samantha Bjorn? Date _him_? 

It was crazy, insane.

Glancing at Melanie, he tried to put a look of nonchalance on his face.

"Sure."

"SURE?!"

Sirius and Melanie were really starting to get annoying.

"Yeah, 'sure.' What's wrong with you two?" He turned his head back and forth to face them.

"Nothing," Sirius said, sitting back and surveying them all with his usual coolness. Remus rolled his eyes, turning back to Sam.

"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?" he asked.

Sam nodded, smiling. "Sure. Meet you at five?"

Remus considered her offer for a moment. "How about seven? The Three Broomsticks is having a party around then."

"Okay." Finishing her juice, Sam stood up and fiddled with her skirt.

Feeling suddenly aware, Remus stood as well. "You have Potions next, right?"

Sam looked up. "Yeah . . ." she said, indicating for him to continue.

"Want me to walk you there?" He held his breath, hoping that was the right thing to do.

"I'd like that." She smiled hugely at him.

_Do that more often,_ Lupin thought, patting himself on the back.

Sirius chewed his tongue until it bled. How could Moony do this to him? How _could_ he?

Moodily stabbing his sausage, Sirius noticed James looking at him in an odd way. "What?" he snapped.

James shook his head. "You have a right to be pissed. But Remus didn't know about the Sam thing, so it's not like he did this as a personal insult."

"But . . ." Sirius couldn't think of a logical reason to his fury towards Remus. No, it wasn't fury. It was jealousy. Pure, unadulterated, jealousy. As much as he hated to admit it, he was jealous of Remus, something that _never_ happened. Next thing he knew, he would be jealous of Peter.

He sighed. "Can't I just be angry?"

James shrugged. "I guess. But don't worry. You'll get over her." He patted his friend on the back and continued eating breakfast.

Sirius looked down at his plate. "I'm not hungry. I'll go get my stuff." He stood to leave.

"Are you gonna eat that sausage?"

Freezing in surprise, Sirius slowly turned to find Melanie Owen gazing up at him innocently.

"What?"

She blinked up at him. "I said, 'Are you going to eat that sausage?'"

He looked down at her for a few seconds. "No."

"Can I have it?"

What was she talking about? "Sure."

Without another word, she speared the meat with her fork and popped it in her mouth.

An idea hit him. "Hey, Owen?" Sirius asked.

"Mm?" She turned to look at him, her mouth full of sausage.

"What are you doing this weekend?"

She swallowed. "Why?" she asked thickly.

"I was just wondering if we could go to the Three Broomsti-"

"You mean like a date?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. _Must she be so blunt? _

"Well if you want me to cut to the chase, yeah."

Melanie laughed. "Of course not."

"What do you mean, 'Of course not?' Why not?" Sirius inquired, astonished.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Can I just not be interested in you?"

"Well I guess . . ."

"There you go. Besides," she said, standing up. She was only a few inches shorter than him. "What if I have a boyfriend?"

"Do you?" he countered, stepping closer.

She grinned mischievously. "No, but what makes you so sure I couldn't?"

With that, she strode out of the Great Hall, quickly followed by Lily Evans, who started whispering to her hurriedly.

Sirius sat down with a smirk on his face. James and Peter were both gawking at him, mouths slightly ajar.

"What?" Sirius spooned marmalade on his toast; his appetite had suddenly returned.

"Were you just . . . _rejected_?" Peter said slowly, as if this kind of information took a while to penetrate into his brain.

"So?" Sirius didn't see the big deal. "It's not like no one's ever been rejected before."

"_You_ haven't," Peter stated candidly.

James shook his head, coming out of shock. "Yes he has, that girl from four years ago, what's-her-face . . . Misae something . . ." He snapped his fingers as if to help him remember.

"Misae Chenoa," Sirius said. "She was hot. Why she didn't want to date me?"

"Um, because you were thirteen and she was seventeen." James looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"Oh yeah!" Sirius said, his eyes lighting up in remembrance. "She was still hot."

"Whatever," James said, shaking his head. "Well, you got over her pretty fast." He nodded his head towards where Melanie and Lily had just left.

"Who, Sam?"

"Yeah. Owen's hot. Too bad she rejected you." James laughed.

Sirius grinned. "We'll see about that."


	5. Kissing

_**Turning Saints Into the Sea**_

**Chapter 5: Kissing **

"Why did you say no?"

Lily Evans was hurrying to catch up with Melanie Owen, who was on her way from the Great Hall, where she had just rejected Sirius Black.

Melanie shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just tired of being nice and saying 'yes' to everyone. You of all people should know how bad doing that is. Remember Mitchell Bradslain?"

"That rat bastard. How could I forget?" Lily said viciously. "But he left Hogwarts; you don't have to see him anymore. And I hardly think Sirius Black compares to him."

She halted, suddenly remembering Sam.

"But I do think you were right, saying 'no' to him. I mean, with Black's history, he'd be sure to be similar to Bradslain."

Melanie gave her a weird look, considering how Lily had just changed her opinion on the matter.

"You really think Black's a young Bradslain? I don't think he'd-"

"No, I mean I think you need a break from men for a while. See what it's like being single," Lily said, lying at top speed.

Melanie laughed bitterly. "Lil, what do you think the past seven months have been?"

She had Lily there. "Mourning?"

Melanie laughed again. "I certainly hope I haven't spent seven months crying over him."

"Whatever. We need to be getting to class." Lily grabbed her friend and started leading her to History of Magic. "What do you think of Sam and Remus?"

Lily felt Mel stiffen slightly. "I think it's really . . . unexpected. I mean, I had no idea she liked him. To tell you the truth, she seemed to like Black."

Lily froze. How did Melanie know? "Why do you think that?"

Mel shrugged. "He asked her for help with Transfiguration homework and she got all flustered and stuff. Babbling. It was kinda cute." Her smile weakened slightly. "I had no idea she felt that way for Remus."

Lily laughed nervously. "I guess she kept it to herself."

"Yeah."

They walked in silence for a couple of minutes.

"So, who do you like?" Lily asked.

Mel hesitated. "No one, really. I'm not interested in any of the boys at Hogwarts."

"I know what you mean," Lily agreed. "Hogwarts boys are so immature."

Melanie groaned. "Don't tell me you're talking about Potter. Come on, Lily, he seems different. You can't say he's acting stupid anymore. How many times this year has he asked you out?"

"None," Lily grudgingly revealed.

"Mmhmm. And if this were last year, how many times would he have asked you out already?" Melanie pressed.

"Five or six."

"Exactly. Maybe he's changed, Lily. Maybe you should stop putting him down," Melanie pleaded.

Lily shook her head fiercely. "Oh, no. He's up to something. I can feel it."

"How can you say that? I mean, he got really hot over the summer. His acne cleared up and everything!"

"He never had acne!"

Melanie smiled, satisfied, as Lily clapped a hand over her mouth.

"How do you know he didn't used to have acne?" Mel asked, her smile growing.

"I don't."

"You seem to."

"You set me up. It was a reflex," Lily insisted.

Melanie laughed and skipped out of Lily's reach. "Yeah, it's a reflex. A reflex to memorize what James Potter looks like," she trilled.

Lily rolled her eyes, trying to act nonchalant. "It wasn't something that I tried to remember. It's something I just know . . . an observation."

"Sure," Melanie said sarcastically.

Lily stomped away; her friend was useless.

"Lily, wait." Mel rushed to catch up to her.

"Sorry I'm so pushy," she apologized, putting an arm around Lily's shoulders.

"You're not pushy," Lily said. "I just get agitated when you and Sam tell me what to think about Potter. I know he's smart and funny and handsome and . . . whatnot. But he's also a jerk. A flat out jerk. No amount of maturing is ever going to change that."

Melanie sighed. "He's really not that much of a jerk if you get to know him. He's actually pretty nice."

"But he's been so mean to people in the past! He was absolutely horrible to Severus Snape alone-"

"Yeah, about that; why do you care?" Melanie stopped to look at Lily.

Lily thought about that for a second. "I don't really. It's more I'm against Potter than that I'm for Snape. And seeing him pick on him . . . I get angry. Like, 'why should he act like he's better than the rest of us?'"

Mel was silent for a moment. "What if Potter got over his childish tendencies? Can't you stop viewing him as a critic and start viewing him as a . . . friendly acquaintance?"

"I guess I could try," Lily sighed.

She considered what Melanie asked of her. True, she could be a little harsh on him. He probably wasn't as bad of a guy as she made him out to be. He was certainly loyal to his friends; all the Marauders were loyal.

"Do you think he would accept me?" Lily asked Melanie timidly.

Mel laughed. "I'm sure he would. It's not like he hasn't liked you since forever." She glanced at her watch. "Oh, my God! We're like, ten minutes late!"

Lily grabbed her arm and the two girls rushed off to class.

James Potter looked up from the table he was studying at to see Sirius. All four Marauders were set up strategically in the Great Hall. Sirius glanced at James and gave him thumbs up; it was all ready.

James looked over to the Ravenclaw table, where she was sitting calmly, reading about Charms. He then picked up his books and stretched, reaching as high as he could.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her follow his motion.

Grinning, he took the long way around the tables so he would pass her. And just as Remus said, she got up as well, to do something or another. Taking careful steps, he 'accidently' bumped into her.

"Sorry," she said, turning to face him, her black hair tickling his face.

_It smells like grapefruit,_ he thought, pleased.

"It's okay," he said, grinning. She smiled back, blushing slightly.

As she slowly turned to walk away, James grabbed her shoulder lightly. "Wait."

"Are you almost finished?"

Lily awoke from her trance. She had been disturbed from her reading by Madam Pince, the school's librarian. Pince stood over her menacingly, as if trying to frighten her out of the library.

"Mm?" Lily said, looking up from her book.

The woman snorted impatiently. "I _said_, 'Are you finished reading yet?' The library closes at eight, young lady."

Lily looked at the clock Madam Pince was pointing at. It read 7:56.

"Dammit! I'm late!" Lily cried, springing from her chair, grabbing her books, and running out the door as Madam Pince shrieked wildly, "Watch your language! Is that they way a Head Girl should act?!"

But Lily didn't care. What she and Melanie had discussed was too important to be late for.

During all their classes, the two girls had talked about Lily and James Potter, however reluctant Lily was. Melanie gave her examples on how he wasn't an awful person, just a seventeen-year-old boy.

And, as Mel told Lily more and more stories, she grudgingly felt herself falling for him.

At the entrance to the Heads' Dorm, the African maiden in the portrait seemed reluctant to let her in. "_Befuddle_!" Lily said, irritated.

The painting sighed, opening the door. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Trying to forget what the maiden had said, Lily rushed through.

"James!" she said, taking off her shoes at the portrait's entrance. "James I need to talk to . . ."

Her voice died as she walked into the Common Room. There, on the couch, was James Potter and Juliana Hernandez.

Kissing.


	6. Masquerade

_**Turning Saints Into the Sea**_

**Chapter 6: Masquerade**

_Her voice died as she walked into the Common Room. There, on the couch, was James Potter and Juliana Hernandez._

Kissing.

Lily felt her heart stop.

It was as if someone had glued them together at the mouth. James was lying on top of her, propped up with his elbows, as if to create a boundary between the two of them. A boundary Juliana was determined to break. She was touching him wherever she could; his chest, his hair, his . . .

Lily fought back nausea as she watched the two of them. It was like cheap pornography.

She cleared her throat. Nothing happened.

She cleared it again.

Nothing.

Fed up, she searched through her bag for the heaviest book she could find; her Ancient Runes textbook sat nestled between her quills and _The Standard Book of Charms_.

Perfect.

Lifting the book up, she made sure the cover was parallel to the ground and dropped it.

The loud _BANG!_ on the wooden floor made James to throw himself from Juliana, who, equally frightened, pushed him off, causing him to fall off the couch and onto the floor.

Panting, James looked up at Lily with an odd expression on his face.

"Evans?" he said between breaths. "You're back early."

Lily gave him a withering look. "Mm, and I would have been later if I had known I would have known there would be two teenagers on the verge of sex on my couch."

Juliana blushed as James stood up, his eyes dark.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, walking over to Lily in an attempt to intimidate her with his size.

Lily looked into his hazel eyes confidently. "It means exactly what I said. If I wanted to watch you two snog, I would have asked for an invitation. In case you forgot, Potter, I live here too. And I certainly don't want you and . . . _her_ snogging all over the place." She threw Juliana a disgusted look.

James seemed to be searching for a comeback.

"Look, this is stupid. Hernandez, leave this dorm," Lily said, motioning for her to move.

The girl snorted. "You can't order me around, you have no right-"

Lily laughed bitterly, pointing to the Head Girl badge on her chest. "On the contrary; I have every right. And you had better leave in the next five seconds, or I'll give you a detention."

Hernandez gasped, outraged, turning to Potter. "She can't . . . Can she, James?"

He nodded begrudgingly. "I'm afraid she can. Sorry, Julie, but you have to leave."

Juliana sighed, glaring daggers at Lily. She walked over to James, pouting. "See you Saturday, James," she murmured silkily, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a deep kiss.

Lily rolled her eyes and looked away, tapping her foot. "Potter! Hernandez! Shall we not?!" she shrieked, losing her temper.

James decided to dislodge his tongue from Juliana's throat. "Fine," he said coolly. Taking Juliana's hand, he led her to the portrait hole.

"You can't go, Potter. We have rounds tonight," Lily called. He shot her another nasty look, pecked Juliana, and led her out the door.

Seeing that they were gone, Lily turned and sprinted up the stairs. Midway up, she tripped, feeling her skin break as it hit the wood, but kept climbing as ferociously as she could.

Slamming the door shut, she breathed heavily, looking at her knees. One was cut and bleeding. Lily watched the blood trickle down her leg slowly.

She stood up and rushed into the bathroom, turning on the water in the bathtub.

As she felt the temperature with her finger, she looked up at the ceiling. _What is _wrong_ with me?_ she silently prayed.

Picking up a sponge, she dabbed gingerly at the cut, wincing at the stinging. Lily then began to put a Band-Aid on it, but suddenly stopped. _Idiot!_ she thought. _Are you a bloody witch or not?_ She pointed her wand at the cut and quickly muttered _"Episkey"_ then trudged down the stairs.

James was sitting on the couch, his robe in a ball next to him. He turned around when Lily entered the room.

"Are you ready to go?" he said, pulling his robes on. Lily nodded, watching him twist around to fit his arms in their sleeves. It was sort of fluid, graceful.

_Ew ew ew ew ew ew EEEEEEWWW!!!_

STOP IT, EVANS!!

As Potter turned around to fiddle with the fire, Lily lightly smacked her head, trying to clear all thoughts of James Potter.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Lily whirled around to see Potter staring at her as if she were deranged.

_. . . Um . . . _

"There's a bug," Lily stammered, swishing her hands around the air to swat away imaginary insects.

Potter raised an eyebrow, but didn't pursue the topic. "_Anyway_, rounds don't officially start for," he said, checking his watch, "Another fifteen or so minutes, so we have some time to kill." He sat down in an armchair and looked at her expectantly.

Feeling suddenly exposed, Lily awkwardly walked over to the chair furthest away from him and self-consciously sat cross-legged, making sure her skirt was well below her knees.

"So . . . how's life?" she asked cheerfully.

Potter shrugged. "It's cool."

A deafening silence filled the room. Lily felt as if she were being suffocated.

"How long have you and Juliana Hernandez been going out?" she asked, trying to keep the conversation casual.

He looked at the clock on the mantle. "Around two and a half hours."

James Potter silently enjoyed the effect of his words. Lily's face paled, before turning a deep crimson, which clashed horribly with her hair.

"T-two and half hours?" she practically shrieked.

Forcing down a laugh, he raised an eyebrow. "Is that a problem or something?"

She sat back, chewing her tongue. "Of course it's not a problem. Why would it be a problem?! Do you think I think two and a half hours is an abnormally short time to wait until you snog another person? Why would you think I have a problem with that? Why, James? Why? Why?!"

"Evans, calm down!" James said, failing to keep his smile hidden. "Why do you even care?"

She scoffed loudly. "I don't _care_! Why in the world would you think I give a damn who you're shagging?"

_What?!_

James stood up. "What the hell are you talking about?! I'm not shagging anyone!"

Lily stood up and walked over to him. "You were pretty damn close on the couch! My God, if I'd been there a few minutes later I'm honestly afraid I would have walked in on something truly terrible!"

She was taking this all wrong.

"We had it under control," James said, sounding unconvincing to even his own ears.

"No, you didn't. You were acting stupid and randy and immature. You're the _Head Boy_! You can't be doing things like that! Are you really willing to sacrifice your badge to your libido?" Lily looked straight into his eyes.

James took a step back. She was very blunt.

_DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!!_

The clock struck 8:30.

James and Lily looked at the mantle.

"We'd better get going," Lily mumbled, grabbing her cloak and throwing it over her shoulders.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to be late for rounds," James quickly added, desperate to leave the room.

Outside it was cold, dark, and silent. Lily shuddered, subconsciously leaning in towards Potter, who seemed like an island of hope.

"Do you want to do rounds together?" he asked hesitantly.

Lily jumped; his voice sounded incredibly loud.

She nodded, drawing closer.

They walked together slowly for a few minutes. _This is stupid_, Lily thought. _No one's out. Can't we just go back to our Dorm?_

A sound around the corner caught both of their attention. Dread washed through Lily.

"P-Potter?" she whispered, frightened.

He looked at her, realizing her fear. "I'll check it out."

_Thank God for James Potter._

Did I just think that?

Potter walked ahead, scoping out what happened. Lily watched his expression grow from grave to amused. He turned back to her and motioned for her to join him.

Coming around the corner, Lily squeezed between him and the wall to see what was going on. He coughed and she realized how close he was to her; she could feel his breath on the top of her head.

Dazed, Lily shook herself slightly and concentrated on what was so funny, before clapping a hand over her mouth.

Pressed up against the statue of Colleen the Confounded were two passionate second years.

Potter wrinkled his nose. "Merlin, I hoped I didn't look like _that_ when I was their age," he muttered.

Lily laughed. "You certainly looked like that a couple minutes ago."

Potter gagged. "With Julie? Ugh." He pretended to retch, before straightening up. "Oh well. We'll go down another hallway."

Lily grabbed his arm as she started to walk away. "What do you mean? We have to stop them!"

Potter surveyed them before shaking his head. "Nah, let them have their fun."

"Fun?!" Lily sputtered, turning him to face her. "That's not 'fun,' it's inappropriate."

He looked at her incredulously. "What do you mean, 'It's not fun?' Kissing's fun." A wide grin spread across his face. "But _you_ wouldn't know _anything_ about _that_, would you, Miss Evans?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lily huffed, turning away.

Potter laughed. "So you've never kissed anyone?"

"I have so kissed people." He was really annoying.

He sighed. "Family doesn't count, Evans. I mean you can't breathe, tongue-down-the-throat, full frontal snogging."

"If you put it that way, then _yes_ I have!" Lily said, blushing.

Potter scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"I have!"

"Who, then?" He crossed his arms defiantly, walking right up to Lily. She instinctively backed up until she hit the wall. Potter, the rat bastard, kept on walking until she pushed him away.

"Who?"

"His name was Malcolm Arevaderci," Lily invented.

Potter smiled. "'Was?'"

She sighed. "'Is.' We met this summer at a camping resort. He's eighteen and Italian."

_It's a good thing you lie well._

"Is he a wizard?" Potter said, sounding interested.

"N-no," Lily replied, not expecting the question.

Potter shuddered, throwing her a disgusted look. "You snogged a _Muggle_!?"

"He was better than you'll ever be!" Lily shrieked.

Potter expression suddenly turned serious. He stepped closer to her until his eyes bore into Lily's. She inhaled quickly, unsure of what he was doing.

"There's only one way to determine that," he said quietly.

He gently pushed Lily up against the wall.

Lily felt her heart pound over time. _Was it normal for someone to generate to much heat?_

Potter started leaning down, before they heard footsteps behind them. Whirling around, they saw the two second years dashing down the corridor as fast as possible.

"Hey, stop!" Lily screeched, shoving James away. The two halted and turned around guiltily.

"Come here!" she commanded sternly. The second years trudged slowly towards them.

"What are your names?" Lily asked as they reached the kids.

The two looked at each other. "Desiree Alban," the girl said dejectedly. "Ravenclaw."

Lily turned to the boy, who sighed. "Lawrence Garafola. Slytherin."

"Ten points from each house," Lily said, which made both of them groan. "You two are way too young to be doing things like that! Besides, it's late."

"You were doing it!" Garafola said angrily, pointing at Potter.

"No, we weren't," Lily said, blushing.

Garafola nodded vigorously. "Yes, you were! We saw, didn't we, De?" he said, turning to the girl, who nodded as well.

"You were mistaken," Potter said, coming to her rescue. "I have a girlfriend. I wouldn't be cheating on her with Evans, especially after hours. Now go back to your Common Rooms _right now_ and we won't give you both detentions. _Separate_ detentions."

After the second years left, Potter brusquely started walking away.

"Hey, Potter, wait!" Lily said, hurrying to catch up with him. "What was that back there?"

"What was what?" he said, sounding confused.

"The-the leaning in and the heavy breathing and the . . . you know," Lily stammered.

He rolled his eyes. "It was a joke. You didn't honestly think I would snog you after you kissed a Muggle?"

She stopped. "That was a _joke_?"

Potter shrugged. "Of course. I'm dating Julie. Did you think I would cheat on her with you or something? Do you think I'm that type of person?"

"No . . ."

"Then let's continue with rounds." He started walking again.

Lily stood there for a couple of moments, before the shock settled in and the darkness started scaring her. "Wait up, Potter!" she called, joining him.

Sam darted outside. 10:04, her watch read. _Lily and Potter should be around the second floor by now._

She ran around the corridors silently, carrying only a case of paints, three brushes, and her wand. When she reached the seventh floor, she walked around, thinking _I need my painting room, I need my painting room, I need my painting room._

Magically, a door appeared.

Almost sighing in relief, Sam rushed inside and looked around. It was a small room, containing a stool with a padded seat, an easel, some canvases, and a window with the moonlight streaming through. Candles floated around, illuminating the room softly.

Smiling, Sam placed her brushes and paint on a table that appeared instantly with a small charcoal pencil on it. Picking up the pencil, she sketched out a mask.

Picturing the mask in her mind, she mixed the paint and started swirling it around the canvas.

_DONG! DONG! DONG!_

Sam jumped from her daze. Hurriedly checking her watch, she realized in horror that it was three o'clock in the morning. Without even meaning to, she had been painting for five hours. Outside, the sky was dark and sprinkled with winking stars.

Smiling, she stretched and looked at her painting for the first time as a whole.

The mask was gold and intricately designed with roses and ivy on one side. Behind it was a sunset-like background. The other side was made of what seemed like black-purple feathers and red thorns. The background was a starry sky with little bats flitting around.

Bewildered, Sam looked into the eyes of the mask. They were blue and green, cynically laughing at her in a way.

_Cat eyes._

My eyes.

Gasping, Sam picked up her wand and sprinted from the room, not looking back.

_I'm the mask, I'm the mask_, her brain silently chanted.

_I'm the mask._


	7. Bimbos and Awapuhi Shampoo

_**Turning Saints Into the Sea**___

Chapter Seven: Bimbos and Awapuhi Shampoo

Melanie stood in front of the mirror, brushing her long, black hair.

_Maybe I should get it cut._

"Samantha! Wake up!" she called to Sam's sleeping form, who was curled up on the bed. She mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over.

"C'mon, Sam," Mel said, buttoning up her shirt. "Get moving!"

Sam sat up, rubbing her eyes slowly. "What time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"It's around four," Shannon Nevan said, coming out of the bathroom while applying cover up.

Sam groaned. "But it's Saturday! Why do I have to get up?"

Mel sat on her bed, still brushing her hair. "Because The Three Broomsticks dance thing is today, and you said you'd meet Remus at seven."

Looking at her clock, Sam realized that indeed it was four. Springing up, she dashed into the bathroom, where Erin Nevan and Rhea Sofronio were giggling and braiding each other's hair.

"Get out, get out!" Sam shrieked, frantically searching around for shampoo and conditioner.

"Shannon, do you have that awphoee stuff?" she called, digging through bags.

"Awapuhi?" Shannon asked slyly.

"Yeah," Sam said, coming to the door. "Can I borrow it?"

Shannon looked at Rhea for a second. "Awapuhi shampoo isn't something you cavalierly use, Samantha. We'll need to give you some sort of instruction."

"Whatever," Sam said frantically. "I have like, three hours till Remus picks me up and I haven't even eaten anything!"

"Tell you what," Rhea said sweetly. "I'll pick out your clothes, Melanie will get your food, and Erin and Shannon can help you get ready."

"No," Mel said. "I need to be here if you're going to do anything to Sam."

"Fine," Rhea sighed. "Erin, go get some orange juice and some egg whites, no butter."

"'Egg whites, no butter'?!" Sam cried as Erin nodded and slid outside. "I need more than that, I'm starving!"

"You can't eat much before you dance, you'll get cramps," Shannon said dismissively. "Strip."

"What?" Sam asked, sure she hadn't heard Shannon correctly.

"You heard me. Strip!"

"I am not stripping in front of you!" Sam cried indignantly, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Shannon rolled her eyes. "Fine. Get in the shower and we'll hand you stuff."

Sam walked into the shower, firmly locked the door, turned on the water, and called, "Okay, you can come in now!"

A faint, "_Alohomora_!" and a _click_ sounded and Shannon was in the room. "Here's the shampoo," she said, handing Sam a small purple bottle. "Use a couple dollops."

After pouring the shampoo into her hand, Sam handed the bottle back to Shannon, who quickly gave her another one. "Body wash."

"Wait! I'm not done with the shampoo!" Sam cried, massaging her hair.

"Well, hurry up! We don't have all day," Shannon replied curtly.

"Leave her alone, Shannon," Melanie said.

"Mel? You there?" Sam asked, gagging on a large amount of bubbles.

"Yeah, I'm here," Melanie yelled over the sound of the water. "How are you do-"

"Are you done with the shampoo, Samantha?" Shannon interrupted, shoving the body wash into Sam's hand.

"I guess so."

"Good. Here's a washcloth, rub this everywhere except your face," Shannon instructed as Sam clumsily washed herself.

"Done?" Shannon called.

"Yep," Sam said, handing back the bottle. Her skin felt raw from scrubbing.

"Here's some conditioner. Rinse and repeat," Shannon said, shoving another bottle at her.

Sam sighed. It was going to be a long day.

Two hours later, Sam was pacing her room in a bra and jeans, trying to think of what shirt to wear, while Melanie lay on the bed, using the ink spell to draw smiley faces on the ceiling.

"Clean that up, Melanie," Sam commanded. "I have like, half and hour before I go on my date and I'm not sure what I'm going to wear.

"_Scourgify_," Melanie muttered, wiping the ceiling clean. "You have no one to blame but yourself for chasing out Rhea, Shannon, and Erin with that bedpost."

"They wanted to give me a bikini wax!" Sam shrieked, cracking. "I'm sorry, but I don't want those three poking anything near my-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Melanie laughed. "What are your options shirt-wise?"

Taking a deep breath, Sam went over to her trunk and pulled out a black shirt. "I was thinking of wearing this, or," she said, rummaging in the trunk again, "This." She held up a blue cardigan.

"Try them both on," Mel said, glad Sam wasn't in hysterics anymore.

Obligingly, Sam headed into the bathroom. A few moments later, she came out again in the black shirt.

"Tada," she trilled, twirling around to model the shirt. It was long and clinging, and Melanie had to admit it made Sam look curvier than she already was.

"That shirt looks really good-" Mel started, before she realized who Sam was going to be with when wearing the shirt.

"Are you sure it's appropriate?" Melanie asked. "I don't think you want to come off too strong."

"What's wrong with it?" Sam asked, observing her hips in the mirror. "It's not like its midriff bearing."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure the amount of cleavage you're showing is necessary."

Sam stared at Melanie. "I'm hardly showing any cleavage. And it's not like I have that much to begin with. Unlike you or Lily," she added enviously, before slapping a hand to her mouth. "Oh my God! Lily! We were supposed to meet her after her rounds!" Grabbing her coat, she dashed out the door, before hurrying back in to grab her makeup bag. "Mel! C'mon!" she called.

Standing up, Mel surveyed herself in the mirror. Her hair hung like a cape around her. A _boring_ cape.

Quickly digging up her spell book, she quickly scanned the pages for the color spell.

"Gotcha," she whispered, pulling out her wand.

Taking a deep breath, she pointed it at the tips of her hair and said, "_Flammeum!_"

Lily Evans casually walked around the Hogsmeade streets, window shopping. _Where in the world are they?!_ she wondered, as she pondered buying a large bar of Dangerously Dark Chocolate in the window of Honeydukes.

"Lily! LILY!"

Turning around, she saw a figure with a large amount of golden blonde hair running towards her; Sam. A couple hundred yards behind her was Melanie, also sprinting.

"I'm so sorry we're late!" Sam gasped as Melanie caught up to them, wheezing.

"It's okay. Oh my God! Mel! Your hair!" Lily cried.

Mel grinned. About two centimeters at the very bottom of her hair was a bright red. "Like it?" she sang. "I decided to try something new for tonight."

Sam laughed. "It's really cool! But when did you do it? We left together."

"Being 5'9" has its advantages," Mel said, indicating to her long legs. "I looked it up right after you took off."

Sam shrugged. "Whatever." She then noticed the bag in her hands. "Oh yeah! Lily, I need help with makeup."

Smiling, Lily grabbed her friends and led them into the nearest shop's toilet, all the way whispering, "You will not _believe_ what Potter did last night!"

"Prongs!"

_BANG!_

James Potter sat up from his bed. "What is it?!" he yelled, feeling around for his glasses and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

As his vision cleared, he realized he was staring into the grey eyes of Sirius Black.

Groaning, James tore off his glasses and rolled back onto his bed.

"C'mon, Potter! Up, up, up!" Sirius chanted, pounding James on the back.

Grumbling, James swung his feet around and placed them on the floor. "Why did you get me up so early?"

Remus laughed. "Early? It's six thirty in the evening."

The watch on James's wrist confirmed Remus's statement. "I was up late last night. I had rounds," he mumbled.

"With the lovely Miss Evans?" Sirius crowed, sitting on the bed. "What happened?"

Thinking over what had happened the night before, James moaned and smacked himself in the head with his palm.

"What?" Sirius asked, suddenly serious.

"I almost snogged her," James admitted quietly.

A stunned silence followed James's words. "What?" Peter asked slowly.

James looked up guiltily. "She was talking about how I would never compare to this Muggle she snogged and I said 'There's only one way to find that out,' and I grabbed her and then two second years ran by so we had to stop. Oh my God, what would have happened if they hadn't been there?" He fell back onto his bed.

"Wow," Sirius said.

"'Wow' is right," James growled.

"Did she try to stop you?" Peter asked timidly.

James sat up, not having considered this. "No, I guess she didn't," he concluded slowly. "But after we yelled at the second years I told Lily that I would never cheat on Hernandez with her." He fingered the quilt, half talking to himself. "_Why_ I said that I don't know . . ."

"Because you needed to be a good role model," Remus said, sitting down on a stool. "Is there any way Lily could have taken it differently? Like, could she have thought you were doing something other than attempt to kiss her?"

James laughed bitterly. "I pressed her up against the wall and leaned in pretty damn close. Someone would have to be a complete idiot to interpret that any other way."

"Pressing someone up against a wall and leaning in is a sign of kissing?" Peter suddenly cried.

The other three Marauders stared at him. "Yeah . . . what did you think it was?" Sirius asked slowly.

Peter started blushing. "Well, I do that all the time to people, and I never fully realized why they started freaking out," he whispered.

Silence.

"Just kidding!" he stammered, far too late.

"Good," Sirius laughed. "I thought you were serious for a second there."

Giggling oddly, Peter exited, muttering something about eating food.

"Remind me why we hang out with him again?" Sirius asked vaguely, looking at the ceiling.

"Because he's our friend," Remus said tiredly.

"Oh yeah," Sirius answered, apparently fascinated by James's walls.

"Why are you staring at my ceiling?" James asked, snapping his fingers in front of Sirius's face.

Sirius shrugged. "I dunno. Wasn't it a different color before?"

"No . . ."

"Before?" Remus sat up. "When were you in here before?"

"I was visiting James to talk about . . ." Sirius trailed off, racking his brain for an excuse. "About girls."

Remus stared, openmouthed. "_Girls?!_ Since when do _you_ need advice on girls?"

Sirius shrugged moodily. "Apparently I'm not as wonderful as I thought I was. I got turned down yesterday."

Remus fell off the chair in shock. "That's the first time ever!" He then thought for a moment. "No, there was that one time in the third year with Misae Chen-"

"Alright, alright, we know," Sirius interrupted angrily.

"Who were you rejected by?" Remus asked, sitting back on his stool.

"Melanie Owen."

He fell off again. "Melanie Owen?!"

"Yeah. Is that bad or something?" Sirius asked.

"Since when do you like Melanie Owen?" Remus said in an oddly calm voice.

"Since yesterday morning," Sirius informed, picking lint off his socks. "We have to go. You have your hot date with Sam," he said to Remus, smiling evilly.

Remus blushed slightly. "Yeah, we should get going."

Sam entered the Three Broomsticks hesitantly. She wasn't used to looking like a slag.

"For the last time, you do not look like a slag!" Lily said, rolling her eyes. "You look hot!"

Sam laughed nervously. "Yeah, right." She scanned the room. "Do you see Remus?"

"There!" Mel said, pointing to the table at which sat the four Marauders and Juliana Hernandez, who was clinging to Potter like a leech.

Taking a deep breath, Sam started across the room, tripping only twice on couples dancing.

As the trio approached the table, Remus saw them and hovered over a few chairs.

"Thanks," Sam said, sitting down next to Remus, who smiled shyly.

Lily observed Potter and Hernandez out of the corner of her eye. She watched in mild disgust as Hernandez fed him a cherry from her drink, which he took before throwing an arm around her shoulders and kissing her.

James, who seemed perfectly content with Juliana, was actually watching Lily's reaction to their obnoxious PDA. She looked adorably pissed, her auburn hair falling from its bun messily into her face, which she swatted away angrily. Just for good measure, he pulled Julie in closer, and much to his happiness, she snuggled in close to him. Lily looked away, crossing her arms and chewing her tongue.

"Can I get you anything?" Madam Rosmerta, the barmaid, asked the group.

Counting, Sirius answered with a wink, "Eight butterbeers, Rosmerta."

Blushing, the woman headed into the kitchen.

Mel, who was conveniently sitting next to Sirius, turned to him and grinned. "'Rosmerta?' You're on a first name basis with the barmaid?"

Sirius grinned, stretching his arms back. "Jealous, Owen?"

Melanie laughed. "Oh, yeah. The day you call me by my first name is the day my life will be completed."

He stared at her, totally serious. "I guess I'll call you 'Melanie' from now on then."

Before Melanie had a chance to answer, Madam Rosmerta came back. "Order's up," she said, handing out the eight butterbeers to the students. Melanie took an extra big gulp that burned her throat, but she didn't care.

Sam and Remus, on the other hand, were talking quietly between themselves, their heads only centimeters apart. They came out of their discussion when the butterbeers arrived.

"Melanie?" Remus asked suddenly.

Mel looked up and willed her face to stop blushing. "Yeah?" she asked, coughing on butterbeer.

"Did you do something to your hair?"

Melanie shrugged. "I dyed the bottom. The black was just getting to dark for me." She let her hair fall over her face like a curtain to hide her face. Through the strands, she watched Remus, who watched her intently before turning back to Sam, who was looking at them both oddly.

After a couple minutes of silence, Remus broke the ice by asking Sam if she wanted to dance.

"Sure," she smiled as he led her out to the floor.

Sirius at this point had pricked up to watch the two. Remus gently placed his hands on her waist as she put hers on his shoulders, and they begun to slowly sway to the music.

Melanie felt her stomach drop as she observed Remus and Sam. They looked so happy, so peaceful together. Their hair color was even similar.

"Prongs, look," Sirius suddenly said, turning to face the back corner of the room. James, who had been chatting flirtatiously with Julie, told her to wait a moment as he tried to see what Sirius was looking at.

"No way," he breathed. "Snivelly's got a _girlfriend_?!"

Melanie, Lily, and Juliana all turned to observe this shocking display.

"That's Hortensia Sharan!" Lily cried in disgust.

And indeed the unspeakable was true. In the far corner sat Severus Snape and Hortensia Sharan, in a passionate lip lock.

"My eyes!" laughed Sirius, smashing a hand over his face. "I'm scarred forever!"

"From what?" Juliana asked, clearly not getting the problem.

Sirius gave her a withering look. "From watching Snivellus stick his greasy tongue down the throat of someone other than Lucius Malfoy."

Juliana gasped. "Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape were having a gay affair?" she shrieked, causing everyone to turn to see what she had said.

"Sirius is joking, Julie," James tenderly explained, tickling her.

Lily bit down extra hard on her tongue. _Bimbo_, she thought viciously.


	8. One Hell of a Hangover

_**Turning Saints Into the Sea**_****

Chapter Eight:

Unable to stand James and Juliana's sappy affection for each other, Lily stood up suddenly and started walking away from the table.

"Where you going, Lil?" Melanie called out.

"To the bathroom," she muttered, heading for the exit instead.

Halfway there, someone called, "Hey Lily, wait!"

Turning around, Lily found herself face-to-face with Brandon Allard.

Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile and said pleasantly, "Yes?"

Brandon Allard was a tall boy with wavy blond hair and the bluest eyes imaginable. He was often fawned over by the female population, meaning he got around-a lot.

"What's up?" he asked, gesturing to the table beside him.

With the briefest glance towards her old table, Lily saw that James, Juliana, and Melanie were all staring at her pointedly.

"I'm just here with some friends," she said, sitting down. "They're over there." She pointed and waved a hand in their direction. Brandon, who had also sat down, looked at the table.

He raised his eyebrows. "Juliana Hernandez is dating James Potter?"

Lily nodded, waving over Madam Rosmerta. "One firewhisky, please," she asked.

Brandon gaped at her. "Firewhiskey?! That's _really_ strong alcohol."

Lily looked incredulous. "So?"

Brandon looked taken aback. "'So?' Three of those could get you drunk."

Lily glared at him. "I'm so sure you of all people have _never_ gotten drunk."

He sputtered. "Well, of course I've gotten drunk, but I've experimented enough to know my limits. You on the other hand . . ."

Lily snorted. "What makes you so sodding sure I've never been drunk before?"

"You're Head Girl."

_Good point,_ she thought bitterly.

She shrugged. "Well, we've all gotta grow up sometime. Ah, thank you," she said to Madam Rosmerta, before picking the whiskey, sloshing it around, and downing it in one gulp.

Brandon's eyes widened as Lily coughed and choked. "You're supposed to take sips," he said weakly.

With an odd gleam in her eyes, Lily ordered another firewhiskey. "Sips are for wimps," she hissed.

After her fifth, Brandon refused to let her have another one. "I don't think six firewhiskeys in less than an hour is healthy," he said carefully.

"Nonsense," Lily slurred, raising a wobbly hand to call over Madam Rosmerta.

"No," Brandon said, pulling her hand down.

Lily looked up at him, unfocused. "Wanna dance?" she said, standing up but quickly losing her balance. Brandon caught her before she hit the ground.

"Oops," Lily muttered, clinging to him.

"Are you okay?" Brandon asked cautiously.

"I'd be better if they'd stop tipping the damn room on me," she replied angrily, regaining composure. "Now c'mon."

Lily led Brandon out to the dance floor with confident but wobbly steps. When they reached the center of the floor, Lily turned to him and placed her arms around his shoulders. The world seemed to slow down as they moved to the music. Or was that the alcohol?

James Potter was staring at the two dancers with enough intensity to burn a hole through them. He had watched as Lily had downed around half a dozen drinks, growing more animated by the cup, before standing up and having Brandon Allard catch her.

_Bastard_, he thought, watching Allard touch Lily in places no one was supposed to be.

Juliana was playing with his hair. He wished she would just go away.

Lily closed her eyes and leaned against Brandon's chest. He smelled like laundry detergent and cologne.

As the song changed, she shyly looked up at him. He really was incredibly handsome.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you have the bluest eyes in the whole world?" she said softly.

Brandon smiled tenderly. "I'll pretend they didn't for you. Has anyone ever told you that you have the greenest eyes in the whole world?"

"Would you be disappointed if they had?" Lily questioned. Her mind was getting foggier and foggier by the second.

"No," Brandon whispered, his face just inches away from hers.

Sirius Black stared at Remus and Sam dancing. They had been for the past forty five minutes.

Suddenly, without thinking, he turned to Melanie Owen, who was sitting next to him.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked her, looking her straight in the eye.

Melanie looked at Remus and Sam. Then she looked back at Sirius. "Yes."

With that, he took her hand and quickly led her to the floor. When they were a couple yards away from Remus and Sam, he placed his hands on Melanie's waist and started dancing with her.

He glanced over at Sam and Remus. They were still talking. Then, as his heart dropped out of his chest, Remus started leaning in to Sam.

"No," Melanie whispered as she saw Remus gently kiss Sam.

Sirius felt as if someone had filled his insides with cotton balls. He looked at Melanie, before stepping away from her.

Without thinking, he pulled Melanie into a fierce embrace and kissed her.

Lily leaned up and kissed Brandon.

James watched in horror as Brandon cupped her face in his hands and as she snaked her arms around his torso.

This wasn't happening . . . Everything had gone wrong, so wrong . . .

As Lily kissed Brandon, she felt the world turning dark. Her mind was slowly slipping out of consciousness.

_Ha!_ she thought tiredly, though who she was laughing at she didn't know.

**Seven hours later . . .**

Lily woke up and promptly regretted the action. Her brain felt as though it was being beat with a hammer very, very hard.

"Melanie?" she croaked, trying to sit up but failing miserably in the attempt.

Melanie walked into the room. "Oh, my God, you're alive!"

Lily winced. "Stop shouting."

"I'm not shouting."

"Oh." Lily fell back onto the bed, nausea overtaking her. "What time is it?

"Around five A.M. You passed out while kissing Brandon Allard," Melanie said, sitting down on the bed.

"What?!" Lily cried, cringing from the loudness of her own voice.

Melanie sighed. "I don't know exactly what happened, I was too busy . . . dancing," she faltered, not wanting to shock Lily even more in her hung over condition. "But James told me that you had like, half a dozen fire whiskeys in a short period of time, snogged Allard, and passed out."

Lily moaned and rubbed her arms, shivering. "Oh my God. Half a dozen firewhiskeys? But I'm Head Girl! A Head Girl can't get smashed! Why didn't you do anything to stop me?!"

Melanie looked uncomfortable. "I didn't realize you were drinking firewhiskey. I didn't think you were capable of doing something like that. I thought when you and Allard started dancing, it was because of feelings, not alcohol."

Dazed, Lily started to stand up. "Can you help me to the bathroom?" she asked Mel while trying to balance. "I need something to drink."

"Oh, right. Here you go," Melanie said, handing Lily a goblet that was apparently filled with a red liquid.

Lily took the goblet and peered inside warily. "Is that blood?" she asked suspiciously as Mel eased her down on the bed.

"Of course it's not blood," Mel snorted, covering Lily up. "It's tomato juice. Drink."

Lily wrinkled her nose. "I hate tomato juice."

Melanie rolled her eyes. "It's this or a cold shower. Take your pick."

Lily immediately chugged the juice, spilling it all over her sheets. "Scourgify," Melanie said, cleaning them.

She stood up. "Me and Sam will be out in the Head's Common Room. Yell if you need anything." She turned and started to leave, before pivoting. "And here's a dust bin; just in case." Melanie placed the bag next to Lily's bed. "Now go to sleep."

As Melanie closed the door, Lily felt her insides heave. Leaning over, she retched noisily into the bin.

Lily groaned. This was by far one of the worst days of her life.

James looked up as Melanie sat down on the couch next to him. On another chair, Sam was curled up, dozing. As Melanie sat down, Sam jerked to consciousness, looking around wildly before focusing on Mel.

"So? How is she?" Sam pestered, sitting up. "Did she overdose?"

Melanie sank into the soft seat, sighing. "She's fine, just really, really hung over. I told her to sleep for a while and gave her the tomato juice. The rest will just take time."

Sam sunk back into the chair. Her long hair was tangled and falling everywhere. She looked worn out, the dark circles under her eyes more pronounced than usual.

Mel checked her watch. "I'll check on her in a few hours. James, Sam, you guys should get some sleep."

James seemed hesitant. "What if you need anything? Shouldn't I-"

Melanie put up her hand to silence him. "What good could you do? You can't walk up the stairs to help her."

He gave an exhausted sigh before giving in and going upstairs.

Melanie watched him, before pulling over a pillow and magicking a blanket for herself. She fidgeted around before finding a comfortable position and allowed the warmth to sooth her. All she needed were a couple hours of sleep. Mel closed her eyes and drifted off.

Lily awoke, her head pounding. "Mel," she called weakly. "Can you come here?"

Silence.

Groaning, Lily hoisted herself out of bed on wobbly legs, clutching the bedpost for support. _I'll never drink again,_ she swore, stumbling over to the bathroom.

After brushing her teeth and using the toilet, Lily pulled off her pajamas and looked in the mirror. _Fatty,_ she thought miserably.

She turned on the shower and was starting to rinse the conditioner from her hair when she heard her door open. "Lily? You in there?" Melanie asked.

"Yeah," she answered.

"Are you okay?" her friend inquired, closing the door behind her.

"Brilliant," Lily grumbled. "Can you hand me a towel?"

A hand holding a white towel shoved through the shower curtain and Lily dried herself off. "Bathrobe?"

Lily stepped out of the shower while tying the belt around her waist. She sat down on the stool in front of her vanity and burst into tears. Melanie put her arm around Lily's shoulders as she sobbed.

"Oh, Mel, the whole plan was a fiasco! I was in the library and Madam Pince came and told me to get out so I did and came to the Head's Dorm to tell James that I liked him just like you told me but he was here snogging Hernandez and I was so embarrassed and hurt and then later we were doing rounds and he came so close I thought he was going to kiss me but then he stopped and told me I was imagining it (but I'm sure I wasn't!) and then the dance came and he and Hernandez were snogging all over the place and I was so jealous that I got _drunk_ and apparently kissed Brandon Allard and now I'm hung over and miserable and oh God, I don't know what to do!" Lily choked all at once, before taking a shuddering breath and sighing deeply.

"Oh, Lily," Melanie muttered, trying to comfort her friend. She stood, picked up a comb, and slowly started brushing the tangles out of Lily's hair. "I was so sure he liked you. _So sure._" She giggled a little. "You have to admit, it's pretty funny that just when you started liking him, he got over . . ." she trailed of as Lily sent her a sad glare. Melanie continued combing her friend's hair in silence.

Melanie had always been envious of Lily's hair. It was a bright auburn with little streaks of red, gold, and brown woven in that fell into perfect ringlets down her back. Lily, of course, hated it, but to Melanie it was fascinating. In her opinion, Lily was one of the prettiest girls she knew. Lily had creamy skin with a few freckles on her nose and beautiful gold green eyes that sparkled when she was happy and grew stormy when she was angry. Lily was colorful and full of life.

Melanie glanced up at herself in the mirror. Her own skin was pale; so pale you could see the delicate blue veins under it. Her hair was black and as straight as a pin, refusing to alter its natural texture unless put under the harshest treatment. Looking higher, Melanie looked herself in the eyes evilly. They were huge and black. Period. Sam always joked that she had doe eyes, but to Melanie, Juliana Hernandez had doe eyes; big, brown, and soft.

"Thanks, Mel," Lily said quietly, smiling at her friend. "Thanks for being here. For me."

"No problem. Hey, we had better get going; breakfast is soon," Melanie said, looking at the clock.

Lily stood up and ran a hand threw her now dry hair. She sniffed and gave Melanie a hug. "I'll get dressed that then we can go to breakfast."

Melanie looked at her own outfit. "Well, since me and Sam dragged you here right after you passed out, we haven't had a chance to change either. So we'll meet you there," she offered.

"Sure. Hey, did you dye the bottom of your hair?" she asked.

Mel laughed. "Yeah, I guess you can't remember that. See you in a few."

Lily buttoned up her shirt and snapped her hair into a sloppy ponytail. She took one last look in the mirror before leaving for breakfast. Though she was still pale, she was beginning to look better; her face didn't look as pallid and the bags under her eyes were lessened by cover-up.

Lily began her descent on the stairs when she heard a door close. She turned and saw Potter at the entrance hole.

"Evans?" he called, halting.

Lily's breath caught in her throat as she continued down. Potter looked to handsome . . . so assured . . . so caring. He was thin but muscled and over a head taller than Lily. _I remember when I was taller than him,_ Lily thought fondly.

James watched her walk down the stairs. Lily had always seemed strong and sure of herself. Today, she looked fragile, like a gust of wind could knock her over. Her skin was pale and her eyes tired looking. She blew a stray lock of hair that was falling from her clip out of her face as she ended beside him.

She had never looked so beautiful.

"You okay?" he asked thickly, clenching his fists to stop touching her.

Lily shivered slightly and looked up at him. "I'm okay. Just a little shaken. I've never done that before."

James laughed, his voice cracking. "Hangover's a bitch. But you're supposed to slowly ease into it. Six firewhiskey shots in one sitting is suicide."

Lily stared at him, a grin slowly spreading over her face. "You seem to know quite a lot on the subject."

He shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "I'm a Marauder; do you honestly think I've never been drunk before?"

Lily sighed. "No. But I'm such an alcohol virgin. I feel like I should know more about it at seventeen."

"Yeah, but don't be getting drunk just because you feel obligated to. It's good that you've never drank before. It's kind of cute, actually," James said, grinning.

She scoffed. "I'm glad you find me adorable."

_Did she really just say that?_ James thought, his palms starting to sweat.

Lily slowly looked up at him, her green eyes innocent and huge. James swallowed, his robes seeming two hundred degrees.

"W-we should go to breakfast," he stammered, breaking the silence. Without waiting for her, James hurried out the portrait, practically running to the Great Hall.

_That was too close,_ he thought. _Stay away from her. She'll be the end of you._


	9. Hogsmeade Fun

_**Turning Saints Into the Sea**_

Chapter Nine: Hogsmeade Fun 

Lily watched James's retreating figure quietly before starting slowly down to the Great Hall herself.

_Why did he seem so nervous?_ she asked herself. _It's not like I asked him anything embarrassing._

As she continued down the hall, she caught sight of herself in a window reflection quickly, before doing a double take. _Oh my God. Is that really what I look like?!_

The dim light of her room had covered up most of the imperfections of her skin. Lily stared in horror at how blotchy her face was. Without thinking, she took off to the library, her head bent down low. Suddenly, her shoulder collided with something strong, knocking her off balance.

Lily fell on the ground, her head banging on the ground hard. She felt her eyes tear as she sat up, clutching her throbbing skull.

"Are you okay?" 

Lily looked up into the blue eyes of Brandon Allard. She nodded wordlessly, feeling tears stream down her face and realized that she had bitten her tongue. Humiliated, she tried to stand before realizing that her skirt had flown up over her stomach.

_Can this day get any fucking worse?_

"Here." Brandon grasped Lily under the shoulders and gently lifted her up. Dazed, Lily felt small in comparison to the boy, who seemed gigantic.

"Take your hands away from your head so I can see what happened," he ordered quietly. Lily shook her head, her hands still clamped to her head.

"Lily," Brandon murmured, bending down to look her in the eye as if she were a child, "I can't help you unless you move your hands."

_His eyes are really nice._

Lily slowly removed her hands and Brandon examined her wound. "You have a bruise on your head and it's bleeding a little. You have to go to the hospital wing," he announced. 

"The hospital wing?" Lily cried, finding her voice. It cracked as she spoke. "I just want to eat breakfast and forget about what happened in the past twenty-four hours, which happened to be some of the most humiliating in my entire life! I'm not going to go off to the hospital wing to-"

Brandon cut her off, putting a finger to her lips. "We don't have to go to the hospital wing. I'll just clean it up myself."

Lily stood still as Brandon performed the _Episkey_ spell on her head, feeling her face heat up from him being so close to her.

"Done," he said finally.

Lily looked shyly up at him. "Thanks."

He grinned and Lily felt her heart drop. "No problem."

An awkward silence enveloped them. Brandon looked around the hallway and Lily fought the urge to start tapping her toes.

"So . . ." she said.

"Want to go grab an ice cream or something?" Brandon offered. "Hogsmeade's open."

Lily beamed. "Sure."

"Excellent." Brandon offered Lily his hand, which she took, blushing a little.

James sat at the Gryffindor table, attacking a bowl of corn flakes. 

"Slow down, mate," Sirius said, amused, folding down half of the Daily Prophet to watch him friend gorge himself. 

James wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Sorry," he apologized thickly, swallowing. "Just a little hungry is all."

"A little? James, you just devoured four bowls of cereal without breathing," Remus said over a mouthful of bacon. "Are you okay?"

James pushed the bowl away, sitting up. "No. I'm not."

Sirius put down the paper. "What is it?"

"It's Evans," James started, before Sirius snorted, picking the paper back up and burying himself in it once more.

James looked incredulous. "What was that for?" he asked indignantly. 

Sirius peered at him over the newspaper. "Prongs, name the last time you _weren't_ having problems with Evans."

James gave him a dark look.

"No, I'm serious," Sirius said, folding up the paper neatly and looking James in the eye. "Tell me the last time."

James thought back over the past few years. "Like . . . third year or so I think."

"Exactly!" Sirius exclaimed, slapping down the paper and making them all jump. "Third year! And how many years ago was that?" Without waiting for them to answer, he cried, "Four! Four bloody years! That's like 1500 days or something!" He patted James on the arm mockingly. "Don't you think you should let it go? You can only pine after a girl for so long."

"But . . ." James was silent for a couple of seconds. "But I think I love her."

Peter, who had been quiet, dropped his tea cup suddenly. With a squeak, he apologized profusely to Remus, whose bag he had soaked.

"C'mon, James," Sirius said good-naturedly. "You can't possibly love her. You don't even know her."

James gave up. His friend wasn't going to accept the fact.

"Besides," Sirius concluded, smirking, "It's not like Evans is the only girl around here who you could go for."

As if on cue, Juliana bounded over and threw her arms around James's shoulders. "James!" she squealed in his ear.

James forced a smile. "Hey Julie! Did you eat?" he asked, pretending to be interested. 

She grinned happily. "Yep! I was hoping we could go to Hogsmeade after breakfast. There's this new shop open that I heard is to die for!"

"Well, I'm finished. Shall we get going?" James questioned.

Juliana giggled, hugging him. "You know I love you, right?" she asked playfully.

James laughed. "You tell me all the time," he murmured, kissing her cheek.

Julie beamed, grabbing his face and kissing him passionately.

James, shocked, waited for her to finish. When Sirius started whistling, he pulled her away. "Let's continue that at the shop," he offered.

She sighed. "I guess. Okay, we can go to the shop. Come on!" She pulled him into standing position and started dragging him out the door.

"See you guys," James called over his shoulder at the other Marauders. "I'll talk to you soon."

"No, no, take your time," Sirius answered, grinning.

James threw him a nasty look before disappearing out the doors.

Lily licked her ice cream cone quietly as she and Brandon walked along the streets of Hogsmeade. The sky was cloudy and it looked like it might rain, but none of that mattered to Lily. All she could think about was Brandon, who was striding next to her.

_Brandon Allard is walking next to _meBrandon Allard_ is walking next to me. Brandon Allard is _walking_ next to me! _With_ me! Brandon Allard is walking with me! Me!_ Her mind was jumbled and heady as they continued.

Lily glanced at Brandon, critiquing him. _His hair really isn't that blond_, she thought, _just a light brown. And he's really tall. He must be like, six foot or something. Is he on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team?_ Lily racked her brain for an explanation to his muscles, before Brandon turned, caught her staring at him, and grinned.

_Ah . . . dimples._

"What?" he asked, slowing down.

"Hmm? Oh! Nothing," Lily stammered, looking at the ground pointedly. 

Brandon laughed, wrapping his arm around Lily's shoulders and pulling her to him. She shyly snuck her own around his waist. "It's okay if you stare at me. I don't mind or anything," he offered, amused.

Lily blushed. "I wasn't staring at you."

Brandon laughed again, releasing her. "You weren't? Then what was this?" He pulled his face into an exaggerated expression of longing, imitating her.

Lily shoved him, trying not to laugh. "Stop it. I didn't look like that."

Brandon put his arm around Lily again. Lily felt her body start to heat up. Suddenly, her clothes were on fire, searing her skin as she continued walking.

The first raindrop hit Lily on the ear. She brushed it off and looked at the sky. Another drop hit her in the middle of her eye, and she winced at the sting.

"Aw, shit," Brandon muttered, noticing the rain as well. As if the sky had popped, a torrent of water fell down, soaking Lily, Brandon, and their ice creams in a matter of seconds.

Lily laughed at the state of herself. An hour or two before, she would have been depressed and exhausted. Now, the rain had lifted her spirits, giving her more energy than she would have expected.

Brandon shook the water out of his hair, squinting around. _God, he looks good wet_, Lily thought fondly.

"We need to get out of the rain," he said over the sound of the rain falling.

Lily looked up at him, beaming. "Why?" she asked cheerfully. "Why do we have to go in?"

Brandon looked at her as if she were insane. "'Why?' Because it's pouring outside!" he yelled, as the wind started to pick up.

The raindrops hit Lily's face like little teeth, but she didn't care. "All my life I've been boring. Always following the rules, always getting my homework in on time, always staying away from dark, quiet places." When Brandon gave her a questioning look, she ignored him, not wanting to get into her phobia. "Today, I want to walk in the rain and catch pneumonia." The wind threatened to lift up her skirt, which she kept still by holding down. "Haven't you ever wanted to experience something you've always been told you can't do? To live life?"

Lightning spider-webbed across the grey sky in a blinding flash. "We won't be able to continue living if we don't get out of the storm," Brandon said, guiding Lily over to the Three Broomsticks.

The pub was cozy and dimly lit. Brandon led Lily over to a table near the back. As soon as they got comfortable, Brandon called over Madame Rosmerta.

"What can I get you?" Rosmerta asked, gliding over to the table. She looked at Lily. "Hopefully not firewhiskey," she teased.

Brandon, noticing Lily's embarrassment, cut the barmaid off. "Two butterbeers, please," he requested.

Madame Rosmerta nodded and headed towards the back.

"So," Lily said, leaning towards Brandon, "Tell me something weird about yourself."

Brandon stared at her. Lily gave him an indignant look. "While learning about someone's siblings and career future is fun and everything," she started sarcastically, "learning about quirks and oddities is much more interesting."

Brandon shrugged. "Okay, I guess you're right. You start," he commanded.

Lily racked her memory. "I don't like mint toothpaste," she offered.

Brandon looked intrigued. "Really?" he asked in shock.

Lily nodded. "Yep. In fact, I don't like mint at all. I prefer cinnamon. That's basically the only type of toothpaste I can stand."

"Weird," Brandon said.

"You next," Lily pressed. 

"Okay." Brandon contemplated. "Oh! I'm allergic to rabbits."

"You're kidding!" Lily cried.

He grinned sheepishly. "No. I can't touch them without breaking out in hives. People think I'm afraid of them, since I avoid them so much."

Lily sat back. Already, she felt closer to Brandon.

"You're turn," Brandon said, touching Lily's hand. It tingled.

"Well, I love . . ." Lily trailed off as she saw who had just walked through the doors.

James Potter and Juliana Hernandez. 

They were dripping wet and laughing. James had his arm around Hernandez in a protective gesture. Lily's heart sank just looking at them.

"Lily?" Brandon turned in his chair to see what she was looking at. At that moment, Juliana, who had been pushing water out of James's hair, stood on her tiptoes to kiss his mouth. He responded gruffly, pulling her in closer. 

Lily's stomach dropped and she cleared her throat, alerting Brandon to turn around. His face had an odd expression on it.

"Oh my God! Brandon!" rang out. Brandon looked up at the sound of his name to see Juliana dragging James over to their table. Lily felt like vomiting.

"Oh my God!" Hernandez repeated, kissing Brandon on the cheek. "It has be _so_ long!" she squeaked, sitting down next to him on the chair James had brought over for himself and Juliana.

Brandon chuckled. "What can I say? I had stuff to do," he said, watching her.

Julie tutted. "That's no excuse not to see me, silly! What, just because I'm your ex-girlfriend means you have to feel distant around me just because you broke my heart for Sahiba Kayastha?"

An awkward silence blanketed the table as Brandon shifted uncomfortably. Juliana looked around, not realizing she had said anything inappropriate.

"And that's two butterbeers," Madame Rosmerta said, delivering the drinks, which Lily took gratefully.

"Oo, butterbeer!" Juliana trilled, rolling her 'R's slightly. "Can we have two more?" she asked Rosmerta.

Rosmerta nodded, amused. "Of course you can. They'll be right here." 

"So!" Julie said, clapping her hands. "How long have you guys been going out?"

Lily started saying, "Oh, we're not-" when Brandon cut her off. "A couple of days," he said vaguely.

Juliana raised her eyebrows, smiling. "Exciting!" she exclaimed. To Lily, she stage whispered, "Is he any good?"

Both Brandon and Lily snorted their butterbeer. "What?!" Lily asked, shocked that Juliana would say such a thing.

The Latina rolled her eyes, still smiling. "I'm just saying, it certainly didn't take him much time with me to start-"

"Lily and I have only been dating for a couple of days," Brandon practically yelled, sending Juliana an evil look. "We haven't _done_ anything yet."

Juliana looked confused. "Why not?"

Lily felt her blood start to boil. "Because it's none of your busine-"

"Two butterbeers," Madame Rosmerta said, placing the drinks in front of Juliana and James.

Lily sat back in her chair, fuming. How _dare_ Juliana Hernandez ask her those questions?! As if she and Brandon had done such things! They weren't even technically dating! How _dare_ she?!

James took a long drag of his drink. "Thank God for butterbeer," he declared.

Juliana slurped her foam, giggling a little. She was really starting to get on Lily's nerves. "So what were you two talking about before we came?" she asked Brandon sweetly.

"Me and Lily were just talking about weird things that we do. It's a better way to get to know someone." Brandon explained.

Hernandez looked thrilled. "Oo! We want to play too, right James?" She turned on James's lap, somewhere she had seemed to have migrated onto.

He shrugged, grinning at her. "If you want." 

Juliana beamed happily. "You're so wonderful," she cooed, and pulled James in for a remarkably wet kiss.

Lily attempted to avert her eyes, but found them being pulled back to the two as if a magnet. Her mind suddenly traveled back to that awful, awful night in the Heads' Dorm, where she had caught them first snogging.

_Thank God they aren't doing_that, she thought to herself, grateful for the hoards of people around, until Juliana, with a loud moan, lifted her leg off the floor and straddled James.

_Oh my God!_

Brandon coughed loudly in an attempt to rouse the two of them. "They're usually like this," Lily explained, sighing. 

"Oh," Brandon said awkwardly. A few prolonged minutes passed in silence.

"Should we break them apart?" he asked timidly.

Lily nodded. Reaching over, Lily pinched James on the arm - hard.

Potter's eyes flew open as he cried out. Juliana was almost tossed to the floor as he shot up, but at the last moment his arm flew out and grabbed her around the waist.

Lily's heart gave a little ache as she watched Potter help Hernandez regain her balance.

"What was that for?" he asked her angrily as Julie settled herself on his lap.

Lily glared at him. "You know exactly what that was for," she growled quietly.

James smirked, cocking an eyebrow. "Aw, Evans, you jealous?"

Lily looked outraged. "At what?" she demanded.

James's grin grew, his eyes shining with excitement. "At the fact that you're too uptight to ever do anything fun?"

Lily scoffed. "I'm not uptight. But you seem to have a problem with self control around Hernandez, and this isn't the first time we've discovered this little dilemma." She smiled without humor as his grin faded, thinking about the night on the couch a few days before. 

A loud crash sounded and the two of them jumped. Juliana had apparently knocked over her mug of butterbeer.

"Oops," she giggled, smiling apologetically at James. "I must have knocked it off."

"It's okay," James said, cleaning up the mess with a wave of his wand. Lily noticed he didn't need to even say a spell. _Wow, into Nonverbals already?_

As James faced the table, an awkward silence covered them all again.

"So, Potter," Brandon said loudly, casually draping his arm around Lily's chair (she felt a shot of excitement zing through her and leaned in towards him), "have you picked your team yet?"

James looked confused, raising an eyebrow. "What team?"

Brandon looked shocked. "Quidditch team," he said as if James should have known. "Aren't you the team Captain?"

James shook his head. "No, that's Sirius. They weren't going to make me Head Boy _and_ Quidditch Captain, I'd go insane."

"Oh. So do you think you're going to be a Chaser on this team?" Brandon asked briskly, seemingly sizing James up.

James gave him a blank look. "Why wouldn't I be a Chaser?" he asked. 

Brandon shrugged. "I dunno . . . I heard some stuff, rumors mostly."

"What rumors? Who told you?" James asked angrily, sitting up in his seat. Juliana squealed as his movements upset her from his lap.

"Brandon and I should really be going now," Lily interrupted loudly, giving Brandon a pointed look.

"Yeah, we have studying and I need to plan the Quidditch team. I was named Captain, did you know?" he asked James casually, shaking his shaggy blonde hair out of his face.

James's mouth turned into a line, but he managed to respond politely. "I wasn't aware of that. Thank you for informing me."

Brandon smiled. "No problem. See you, Potter. Bye, Julie," he said, nodding at James and giving Juliana a little wave before heading for the door.

Lily murmured, "Bye," glancing at James over her shoulder. He had an annoyed look on his face and he was staring directly at her. She felt her face heat and turned around to join Brandon, feeling his eyes watching her the entire time.


	10. The Mysterious Halloween Party

_**Turning Saints Into the Sea**_

Chapter Ten: The Mysterious Halloween Party 

Almost a month had gone by since Lily had confronted James at the Hogsmeade. Neither had mentioned it again. Their conversations were polite and cool, a discussion one would have with an important member of society. James had kept dating Julie, Lily was content with Brandon.

Life was monotonous, if not downright boring.

Lily glanced over at James from her chair in the Common Room of the Heads' Dorm. She was pretending to read _Who Am I? How I Survived Obliviation_ by Rebecca Comellita, but as hard as Lily tried to concentrate on the book's words, she felt herself being drawn back like a magnet to Potter, who was steadily writing an essay on some subject or another. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Lily watched him dot the period on the final sentence of his essay. He gave a sigh of relief and blew on the parchment to dry it, before rolling it up neatly and tucking it into his bag. James then pulled out an Astronomy book, three charts, and a compass and busied himself with his homework. 

Lily flipped the pages of the book lazily, glazing over the words. She looked at the clock on the mantle: 7:27. It was almost time for dinner. Lily looked over at James again, before slamming her book shut and standing up, stretching. He didn't even flinch. 

"Potter, it's three minutes to dinner," Lily said, putting her hand on her hip and flicking her hair out of her eyes.

"I know," he said, not taking his eyes off his charts.

Lily waited for him to get up. He didn't. 

"Are you coming?" she asked expectantly. 

"Yes."

He still didn't move. 

Lily sighed. "Are you being difficult on purpose?" she inquired testily.

Without warning, James closed his book and walked right up to Lily, standing a few inches in front of her. Lily backed up a few steps.

James grinned evilly at Lily, who looked shocked. "If you can't take the heat, don't play the game," he recited cheerily, tapping her nose and walking out the portrait hole.

Lily stood still, stunned. "What are you talking about?" she asked incredulously, following him out the door. "What game?"

James chuckled. He started down to the hallway, ignoring Lily.

She ran to catch up with him. "What game?" she pestered, tugging on his robe.

James continued ignoring her, humming to himself and acting aloof. Lily huffed and started prodding him, still asking. Without warning, James took off into a run. 

Shocked, Lily started after him. When she caught up, she jumped on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"What game, Potter?" she hissed mock-seriously into his ear, holding her wand against his head.

Suddenly, Lily felt herself being flipped over his shoulder. Shrieking, she scrambled to stay upright, before realizing that James wasn't going to let her fall. 

As soon as she wasn't on his back, James placed her gently on the floor. Lily's legs crumpled, her heart pounding from the adrenaline rush she had just experienced.

Lily took off after him. When he realized she was chasing him, he started running too. Being over eight inches taller than her, it wasn't difficult for James to keep ahead of Lily.

When they reached the doors, both of them were gasping for breath. James leaned his head against the door, and Lily fell to the floor, laughing. 

"That was so much _fun_," she said in between breaths. James turned his head and watched her sitting against the door, eyes closed, mouth slightly opened, cheeks flushed, chest heaving.

Suddenly, the air around James didn't seem to have enough oxygen. He felt his stomach tighten and his heart beat out of control.

Lily took a final breath and turned her head to face James. She peered up at him innocently, blissfully unaware of the dull ache that seemed to be seeping into his body.

"Ready to go in?" she asked quietly, struggling to stand. Without thinking, James stuck out his hand, which she grabbed.

James felt a spark of electricity zing through him as he pulled her up. Lily dropped his hand immediately and opened the door, her no nonsense behavior making James to wonder whether she'd felt what he had.

Sam looked up when Lily sat across from her. Her friend's red hair was curling in every direction, tousled messily. Her cheeks were rosy and she looked like she was trying to keep a smile off her face.

She tapped Lily's leg with her foot under the table. When Lily looked up, Sam silently asked her, _What happened?_

Nothing, Lily responded. Her eyes flickered to Potter, sitting a few seats to the right, before landing on her lap, a blush slowly creeping up her face.

Sam looked at Potter, who though wolfing down mashed potatoes looked distinctly disheveled. His hair was in a greater disarray than usual and his robes were slightly rumpled. 

She turned back to Lily, whose gaze was still guiltily trained to her lap. This time, she kicked Lily.

_What did you do with him?!_ Sam asked with her eyes.

_Nothing!_ Lily said back stubbornly.

"Are you two talking with your eyes again?" Remus said laughingly next to Sam. She jumped, forgetting that her boyfriend was there.

"I suppose," she said, smiling at him. He smiled back, giving her hand a squeeze before returning to his dinner.

"Oh! I'm going to be seeing my cousin tomorrow. She's in the hospital and my mum wants me to visit her, since it's been a few months," Remus informed her. "I didn't want you to worry."

"Oh, okay. I hope she gets better," Sam replied.

She looked down at her plate, thinking. Remus was a good boyfriend, there was no denying that. He was sweet and considerate and attractive, in a wholesome, gangly kind of way.

Daring herself not to, Sam leaned forward and snuck a glance at Sirius, who was sitting next to Melanie and chatting amiably with James. Mel's long hair was weaving itself into Sirius's, the dark on dark making them look like one person, a part of each other.

Her heart sank a little, as it always did when she looked at them. For the past month or so, they'd hardly been apart. It didn't shock her. Melanie was into relationships, and passionate ones at that.

Sam's mind flew to Mitchell. About how hurt Mel had been after he dumped her, and how much more she herself had been.

_I won't do that to Mel. Not again,_ she decided.

Her gaze landed on Sirius.

_No matter how much I want to._

Back in the Girl's Dorm, Melanie was putting her pajamas on slowly. Sirius had kissed her goodnight. Well, snogged her goodnight.

_He really is a good kisser,_ she mused.

Sam walked out of the bathroom, buttoning her shirt up. She dropped her folded robes into her trunk and sat on Mel's bed, picking up her brush and starting on her hair.

"How was your day?" Sam asked tiredly.

Melanie shrugged, sitting down next to her friend. "Okay I guess. Care of Magical Creatures was cool; we may be able to take a Portkey to visit a Chimera."

Sam looked surprised. "You'll need parental permission for that. And isn't it dangerous?"

_Sam. Always so cautious,_ Mel thought fondly.

"I guess." Melanie looked closer at Sam's pajamas. "Is there paint on your pants?" 

Sam looked down. Indeed, there were little flecks of black and purple scattering across her bottoms.

Sam looked flustered. "We were painting in Divination," she stammered. "I got it on me."

Melanie stared at her. "Why were you wearing your pajamas in class?"

Sam shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know."

"Samantha," Mel said warningly, "What aren't you telling me?" 

"Nothing," her friend whispered, shrinking in embarrassment.

"Then why is there paint on your pajamas?"

"I don't know."

Melanie watched her friend for a few moments. "Never mind. You can tell me when you're ready."

Sam quietly slunk into her own bed, looking defeated.

Melanie smiled slightly. Her friend was so shy, delicate. What could she be hiding?

Sam listened as Melanie lay onto her bed. She looked over at her friend slowly, watching her turn over and fall asleep. 

Sam turned on her back and stared at the ceiling, thinking about what had just happened. Melanie had seen the paint spots from her late night rendezvous in that room that held her art equipment, whatever it was called. And, to avoid further questions, she had acted scared and shy, and miraculously Mel had let her off the hook.

_It's almost too easy_, she thought sadly, aching to tell her friend the truth.

_BRIIIIIIIING!!!_

Lily opened her eyes, staring at her alarm clock. It continued ringing, no matter how much she willed it to stop. 

_Clock, if you don't shut up, I will kill you._

As the clock continued its incessant ringing, Lily thought about what she had to do for the day. It was Saturday, which meant she had rounds in the morning. Then she and Brandon could go off to Hogsmeade, maybe get a bite to eat. That had generally been what they had been doing over the weekends.

_Wait. Today's Saturday?_

Lily turned her head slowly, scanning the calendar on her wall. Saturday, October 23.

_An evening with Potter._

Lily closed her eyes and pulled the blanket over her head as many fantastical possibilities of the evening's outcome ran through her mind. The warmth of her blankets and comfort of the images flying through her brain caused her to drift off again . . . 

"AHHHHH!"

_CRASH!_

Lily jumped up. Someone had screamed outside her door. Running over to the door, she wrenched it open and flung herself out of the room, stopping at the banister. She leaned over; craning her neck to see what was going on in the Heads' Common Room.

Potter was sprawled out at the foot of her stairs, looking bewildered and massaging his head, which seemed to have hit the floor.

"James!" Lily cried, running down the stairs. But they weren't there anymore. In place of the stairs was a large slide, which the stairs seemed to have folded to become.

As Lily's foot hit the slide, her sock slipped out from underneath her. She fell down, hitting her butt hard, and slid down the ramp, shrieking.

Lily fell in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs, halfway on top of Potter. 

Looking around wildly, she tried to sit up while maintaining what was left of her dignity, having just screamed her way down a flight of stairs. "What happened to my stairs?!" she yelped, focusing on Potter.

He stopped rubbing his head and turned to look at her. "I was trying to tell you to turn off your clock, since it woke me up, but halfway up the stairs disappeared and I fell down." He looked up at her door. Lily studied his profile, then blushed when she realized what she was doing.

Potter turned back to her. "Why didn't you turn off your clock? It's-" He glanced at the clock on top of the mantle- "Six thirty."

Lily flushed. "I — I mean — It's a new clock, and I wasn't quite sure how to turn it off."

_Lily Marie Evans that was the most __**PATHETIC**__ excuse in the __**ENTIRE BLOODY UNIVERSE**_ her brain screamed.

James surveyed her with a look that clearly said he didn't believe a word of it, but thankfully he didn't press her. He looked down, and seemed surprised to find her practically sitting on his lap.

Lily sprang up and tried to calm down her over-imaginative brain. Potter slowly righted himself, inspecting Lily's staircase. "How're you supposed to get back up there and get dressed?" he asked, looking at her. 

"Oh, that'll fix itself in a couple of minutes," she said dismissively.

"What'll fix itself? What did I do?" James asked, turning to face her.

"When a boy tries to go up a girl's staircase at Hogwarts, the staircases basically form a slide and don't allow the boy to make it up," Lily explained automatically.

James looked spellbound. "Why?"

Lily smiled. "The Hogwarts founders thought boys were more untrustworthy and this was a method to keep girls safe. It explains it all in _Hogwarts, a History_." 

"You read _Hogwarts, a History_?" he asked incredulously.

Lily shrugged. "Last year, a girl in my year's boyfriend tried to climb the stairs at night and the same thing happened. So I looked it up in the book and ended up reading the entire thing. It's actually quite fascinating." 

James scoffed. "Please. A book about a school? Fascinating?"

"No, it really is!" Lily insisted. "For instance; did you know that in the Essacoff-Freitag biographies section in the library, if you open a certain book correctly it will reveal a sort of dumbwaiter to the kitchens? That's how kids can sneak food into the libraries without the librarian knowing."

"Really?" James asked, looking surprised.

Lily grinned. "Yep." 

A creaking sound caused them both to turn around. The ramp was becoming stairs again. Lily was free to go.

"I'm gonna go get changed," Lily said, starting up the stairs as James left for his room, yawning.

"Wait! Potter?" Lily called from the top of her stairs. James poked his head out. "What?" he called back.

"We have a Heads' Meeting tonight," she reminded him, willing her face not to turn red.

A smile slowly spread across his face. "I know."

Lily and Sam strode over to the dinner table, talking about their day. Mel was already seated by Sirius with the rest of the Marauders. As Sam began dishing out her food, Lily turned to Mel.

"How was your day, Mel?"

Her friend looked up and smiled. "We went on sort of a double date thing with Sam and Remus," she said happily, looking at Sirius, who grinned back.

Lily smiled, then squeezed Sam's hand quickly. She didn't want to think about how hard it was for Sam to watch Melanie and Sirius together. 

Sirius, Remus, and James stood and started reloading their plates. "Padfoot, could you hand me some pumpkin juice?" James asked.

"Sure," Sirius said, filling a goblet up slowly with the frothy liquid.

"Ravenclaw gets the Halloween Party this year," James said sullenly. "We could have had the best party ever!" He reached over to grab his goblet from Sirius, who was leaning over a very annoyed Remus to hand it to him.

"What Halloween Party?" Lily asked, confused.

Sirius turned to look at her and dropped the goblet, which James failed to catch. The goblet hit Remus's plate, causing it to flip out of his hands and fall straight onto Peter's lap.

"You don't know what the Halloween Party is?!" Sirius, Peter, and James said in unison, while Remus rolled his eyes.

Melanie looked taken aback. "No," she said.

Peter still seemed oblivious as the plate of dinner seeped into his robes. "In all your years at Hogwarts you've never heard of the Halloween Party?!" he asked in shock. 

"_No_," Lily said, a little irritated.

"I know what it is," Sam volunteered in a small voice.

The entire group turned to look at her. "You do?"

She nodded slowly, chewing on her turkey. "Yeah."

"So what is it?" Melanie asked, looked aggravated.

As Peter cleaned up his lap, James started explaining. "The Halloween Party is a secret party thrown every year by one House for the seventh years. Only seventh years are allowed, and it alternates Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. This year, unfortunately, is Ravenclaw's year."

"What?!" Lily cried. "How could the seventh years create a party that no one knew about? I mean, there's like, one hundred and fifty people per year! How can that many people be hidden in one room?" 

Sirius laughed. "It's not like one hundred fifty people come marching through the halls on Halloween night and all bang on one Common Room entrance, screaming to be let it. It takes loads of planning. Ravenclaw's been preparing this since 6th year ended."

"So on Halloween night, we were supposed to just intuitively know to go to Ravenclaw's dorm?" Melanie asked.

"No; that's why we were so surprised you didn't know," James said with a grin.

"What kind of party is it this year?" Sam asked. "Last year was a ball."

"This year I think Ravenclaw's hosting a masquerade themed party. Pretty fancy," Peter said.

"Fancy?!" Lily and Melanie cried. "You mean like formal attire?" 

"Probably," James figured. "Why?" 

Lily scoffed indignantly. "We don't have dresses! We have to _prepare_ for something like that!"

Sirius laughed. "That's the price to pay for not being in-the-know."

Lily ate her dinner in silence, thinking about where to get her robes in time. _There is that store in Hogsmeade_, she thought frantically. _Maybe I could grab something tomorrow after I finish homework._

"So how did you four learn about it?" Melanie asked, serving herself more mashed potatoes.

James and Sirius glanced at each other. "We overheard two seventh graders talking about it in our second year," Sirius said slowly.

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, so you just 'happened' to 'overhear' something that secret?" she asked, clearly skeptical.

Sirius grinned at her mischievously. "So maybe a little breaking and entering was involved…"

Remus laughed. "So ever since then they've been trying to get into the party, with no prevail, since our third year."

"How?" Lily asked.

"Hmm. Befuddlement, stilts, dates, the Polyjuice potion-" Remus listed, before Lily cut him off. 

"What?! You brewed a Polyjuice potion?!" she cried.

"_Attempted_ to brew a Polyjuice potion. Those two," Remus said, pointing at Sirius and Peter, who smiled guiltily, "Forgot the lacewings, which is the simplest ingredient, since it's probably one of the only ones we're readily able to get."

Lily thought for a moment. "So two years ago in potions, that huge explosion…" 

James grinned. "Yep. Sirius Banished Snape's cauldron, which made potion spill everywhere, and during the confusion, Peter snuck into Slughorn's private stores and took the ingredients we needed." He sighed. "It would have worked so well, until the potion exploded under my bed."

Sirius laughed. "I remember that! Scared the hell out of me." 

Sam's eyes lit up. "So that's why you had to go to the Hospital Wing and all your robes were scorched!"

James nodded grimly. "Yeah." He turned to Lily and Mel. "We had been brewing the potion under my bed, so no one could find it, but in the middle of the night, because they didn't put in lacewings, it exploded while we were sleeping. Burnt a hole right through my bed. I still have the scars."

"How did you explain it to Madam Pomfrey?" Lily asked, intrigued.

They all looked at each other, thinking. "I think we said a Zonko's product we experimented on," Peter offered. The rest nodded in agreement.

"I'm gonna go talk to Brandon about the Halloween Party," Lily announced to no one in particular, standing up and walking over to the Ravenclaw's table.

"Hey," she said happily, sliding next to Brandon, who put his arm around her and kissed her cheek.

"Hey yourself," he replied with a grin. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," she said. "What's this I hear about the Halloween Party? Why didn't you tell me?"

Brandon groaned, throwing his head back (a few girls stopped talking to watch.) "Ah, damn. I was hoping to ask you to be my date tomorrow in Hogsmeade." He smiled shyly.

Lily's heart soared and she threw her arms around Brandon in a tight hug. "Of course I'll go with you," she whispered, kissing him quickly on the mouth. "I'm gonna go tell Mel and Sam," she said. "It's a masquerade party, right?"

Brandon nodded, helping her off the bench. "I'll tell you more about it tomorrow."

Lily flew over to her friends. Mel looked up from a magazine she had pulled out when Lily sat down. "Why do you look like you just won a million Galleons?"

Lily grinned blissfully. "Brandon just asked me to go to the Halloween Party with him!" 

Sam squealed. "That's so exciting! We should go look for dresses tomorrow afternoon!"

Mel, on the other hand, didn't seem fazed. "I don't see the big deal." 

Lily and Sam, who had been excitedly planning, stopped talking and stared at Melanie.

Mel shrugged. "I mean, isn't it expected that you two would go together? You're his _girlfriend_. It's not like you'd go with anyone else."

Sam rolled her eyes. "So? It's the fact that he went out of his way to ask, instead of just assuming Lily would go with him. It's sweet." 

Melanie shrugged again, burying her head in the magazine again. "Whatever. I'm just saying."

Sam shook her head, turning back to Lily. "So do you want to get together tomorrow at Hogsmeade?"

Lily nodded. "Brandon and I are getting some lunch tomorrow, but I'm sure I could see you after that."

Sam smiled. "Good."

Remus tapped her plate. "Sam?"

She turned around and smiled at him. "Yeah?"

A smile started growing on his face. "Do you want to go to the dance together?" 

Sam's smile widened. "Okay," she responded, sounding a little breathless.

"Cool," Remus said, blushing slightly. He turned back to his dinner.

Sam looked at Lily, who gave her a little hug and congratulated her. 

"So are you going with Sirius, Mel?" Sam asked, turning to her friend, who looked up from her magazine, a little annoyed. Sirius looked up at the mention of his name.

Melanie shrugged, looking at Sirius. "I guess. I mean if you want to." 

Sirius considered it, then nodded. "Sure. The fun's gone, but I might as well see what I've been missing for the past five years."

Sam looked confused. "What do you mean, 'the fun's gone?' Why is the fun gone?"

Sirius sighed, sounded aggrieved. "It was always fun preparing absurd ideas on how to sneak in. We felt like professional Aurors getting ready for a mission whenever we planned our attack. Now, there's no struggle at all. We're seventh years. Automatically allowed in." 

"So? Won't it be fun to dress up and go dancing?" Sam asked earnestly, trying to convince him.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "No. Dress robes are really uncomfortable. And I'm not much of a dancer."

Sam gave up, sitting back. "Whatever." She turned to Lily. "I really think you should get a green dress, to match your eyes . . ."


	11. The Halloween Party

**Turning Saints Into the Sea**

Chapter Eleven: The Halloween Party

Lily took a deep breath, admiring herself in front of the seventh year Girls' Dorm mirror, where she had chosen to get dressed. _Not too bad,_ she thought to herself. _For someone who had a week to get ready._

Grabbing a bottle of perfume from Sam's vast collection, Lily spritzed herself on her chest and hair. The aroma of vanilla and some sweet flower she didn't know the name of washed over her.

Sam rushed over to Lily. "I think I tore my dress!" she shrieked, pointing at her back. Lily placed the perfume bottle back into its case and examined Sam's dress. She saw nothing.

"There's no tear, Samantha," Lily explained, turning the frantic Sam around.

Sam shook her head. "No, I _know_ I heard a rip! Are you _absolutely positive_?" she said, anxiously feeling the back of her dress.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Sam, stop freaking out. You look awesome. Remus is going to love you."

Sam looked at Lily meaningfully. "It isn't Remus I'm trying to impress tonight, is it?" she murmured quietly, when Melanie entered, as if on cue, saying, "I think I should wear flats. The last thing I need is to be taller then Sirius."

Lily looked at Melanie and nodded, smiling. "That's the last thing we need."

Sam sighed quietly. "Wow Mel; you look gorgeous. You could like, model stuff."

Melanie laughed, examining herself in the mirror. "Yeah right. I'm not pretty enough for that."

As Lily and Sam started to protest, Shannon walked over, twirling in front of the mirror, her chestnut curls dancing around her head. "Whatever. You three should head down; you wouldn't want to keep everybody waiting."

Sam glanced at the clock. "She's right. The last thing we need is to miss the only way to get to the party."

They started down the stairs, trying to keep as quiet as possible.

Huddled around the portrait hole were around half a dozen seventh years, whispering excitedly to each other. Lily fingered her mask unconsciously, before slipping it on over her eyes.

James glanced up at the stairs, and his breath caught in his throat. There she was, walking gently down.

Her robes looked like they were made of some wispy, soft material he didn't know the name of. They were a light green color with pretty gold stitching around the hem. Her hair was like it had been on the first day on the train; curling gently from a clasp.

She looked so, so beautiful.

A jab in his ribs caused James to turn, massaging his side, to face a grinning Sirius.

"What was that for?" he asked angrily.

Sirius's gray eyes glittered behind his simple black mask. "You were drooling over Evans again. Besides, you wouldn't want anyone knowing about your super secret crush on her, would you?" he muttered sarcastically.

James rolled his eyes, before slipping his own mask on and smoothing out his robes. "She's going with Allard. And I wasn't drooling."

"Yes you were."

"No I wasn't."

"Yes you were!"

"Were what?"

James turned.

Lily Evans.

She grinned up at Sirius and him, shaking out her hair slightly; the ringlets shone in the dim light.

"Were what?" she asked again, looking at Sirius, who opened his mouth, before James stamped on his foot as hard as he could.

"I wasn't thinking about blowing off our Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. After all, I need to get at least an 'O' on my NEWTS," James improvised.

Lily's mouth fell open and she laughed disbelievingly. "That is the biggest load of rubbish I've ever hear-"

"It's time!" Shannon hissed from the Portrait hole.

Immediately, the group of seventh years silenced.

Shannon flicked her brown hair over her shoulder haughtily, brandishing a small scroll of parchment that was sealed tightly with a glowing, silver bond.

Erin was staring at her watch. "Three . . . two . . . one . . . Now!"

As her clocked ticked to 11:45, the bond on the parchment melted away. Shannon eagerly opened it up, glanced at it, and read the instructions aloud in a stage whisper.

"You are to perform the Concealment Charm (_Celantus!!_) upon yourself or another at 11:50 and station yourselves lined up against the wall outside your Common Room. At midnight, a representative will come (they will be invisible) and snap three times. Your self assigned leader of the group that will, of course, be me will snap back twice. When the representative walks over to them, the leader will inform them exactly how many people are with them.

The representative will then leave and come back with as many helpers as needed in your group. There are usually around three-four people per representative, so please pick out your groups BEFORE HAND, as we have limited time to get you to the Masquerade.

After you are broken up into separate groups, you will all head over to the Masquerade accordingly to the Caretaker and where he is. If all goes well, you should reach the Masquerade within fifteen minutes."

Shannon looked around at the group. "Get into your groups now," she said bossily. "We don't want to hold them up."

Lily, Mel, and Sam all looked at each other and shrugged. It was obvious who their group was going to contain.

Half an hour later, Lily, Melanie, and Samantha found themselves walking through a seemingly hidden portrait hole into a golden hall.

Sam gasped, taking in the sight. The Common Room had been modified into a lavish dance floor, the theme being blue and gold, after Ravenclaw's house colors.

On the floor were a couple dozen couples dancing, their masks hiding their identities. The swirl of the dresses almost made her dizzy, the elegance of the picture inspiring a painting she had to create.

A hand on her waist caused Sam to turn to find Remus grinning down at her. "Hi!" he said, his mask obscuring his face.

She smiled back, leaning into him. "Hey! It looks so pretty out there."

He looked out onto the dance floor. "Yeah. Ravenclaw really outdid themselves this year."

"_This_ year?!" Sam laughed. "I thought you never actually made it to the Halloween parties."

"We made it in. We just never got to _stay_," Remus explained.

"What, did they throw you out?" Sam asked incredulously.

Remus laughed, holding up two fingers.

"Twice?!" she asked disbelievingly.

"Twice what?" Sirius asked, walking up with Melanie. Sam's heart sank a little when she saw his hand on Melanie's hip. She immediately tightened her grip on Remus, remembering her wonderful boyfriend was standing right next to her.

"I was just telling Sam about those times we got thrown out of the Halloween Party," Remus explained, giving Sam a gentle squeeze.

Sirius flicked his eyes over to Sam, who felt her face heat up as Sirius's gaze, through his black mask, seared into hers. She held his eyes there, determined not to look away first.

Eventually, Sirius broke the connection. "Yea, we got thrown out. Painfully, too. I still have the scars." He pushed open his dress robes and opened his shirt, showing the group his torso.

Sam almost felt her mouth drop open. _He has a really nice chest._

"It's this one right here," Sirius continued, trailing his finger over a small section where a few centimeters of scar tissue lay. "When they threw me out, I ran into a suit of armor and . . . the rest is history."

"What's this?" Melanie asked, indicating to a group of gashes that looked like claw marks along Sirius's right side. They were fresh wounds, only starting to scab.

Sirius's eyes flew to Remus's, then back at the wounds on his side. He laughed. "Care of Magical Creatures. One wouldn't think a Kelpie could cause this much damage, eh?"

Sam frowned at Sirius's statement. Kelpies were water creatures that usually took the form of horses or sea serpents, nothing with any claws to scrape up his side like that. She looked up at Sirius, who was buttoning his shirt back up, and studied him, trying to get a hint of why he was lying. Nothing stood out to her, but, still suspicious, she casually asked, "Didn't we learn about Kelpies in our third year or something? What were you doing around them if not in Care of Magical Creatures?"

Sirius froze; Remus stiffened next to her. She watched closely as Sirius's eyes flicked to Remus's, shock and fear filling them. Remus cleared his throat loudly, and Sam felt body heat radiate from him. He grinned down at her, but his eyebrows twitched as he did so; a sign he was embarrassed, uncomfortable, lying, or a combination of the three.

"Do you want me to go get some butterbeer for us?" Remus asked loudly as he walked away, not waiting for her answer.

"Yea, and there's someone I really need to talk to about something over near that corner. Be right back, Mel," Sirius said at the same time, striding away dramatically.

Melanie looked at Sam. "Well that was weird," she said pointlessly.

"Yea," Sam agreed. "What are they hiding?"

Mel looked at her through her blue mask, her dark eyes glittering with laughter. "Knowing Sirius, something probably girl related. Maybe he went out with a girl with huge talons who slashed him up after he dumped her. I should look out; she's probably still on the prowl," she joked.

Sam nodded, tittering. A comfortable silence enveloped the friends as they watched the dancers peacefully.

Sam looked at Melanie's hair, which had been pulled up in an elaborate twist. She gasped when she realized that the pink bottom of Mel's hair was gone, replaced with navy blue zigzags.

"You changed your hair color again!" she exclaimed, reaching up to touch it. Melanie grabbed Sam's hand and pushed it gently away.

"Don't touch. It took like half an hour to put up. And yeah, I changed the color. Pink was getting a little old. Plus, the blue matches my dress robes," she explained, swirling her indigo skirt to demonstrate.

"So are you going to change your hair color all the time now? Or is this some sort of phase you're going through. Remember the piercings. . ." Sam asked in a warning tone.

Melanie laughed. "Oh god. I looked terrible. I can't believe I ever thought a lip ring was attractive." She shuddered, tonguing the spot where the metal device had been two years previously.

Sam smiled fondly. "Aw, you didn't look _that_ bad. Just . . . different. And you got rid of most of the rings, so it's all better now."

Mel stood for a moment, trying to remember all the spots she had let close up. "Yea. But I'm glad I kept most of the ear ones." She pushed her hair back from her ears, where six little sapphires winked at Sam in the dim light of the candles.

Sam gazed almost enviously at Mel's earrings, then felt her own ears, where only one small pearl sat. She had never even considered getting more piercings or dyeing her hair any colors.

"Where's Remus? It doesn't take _that_ long to get a few things of butterbeer?" Melanie asked suddenly.

"Probably with Sirius," Sam sighed. "Let's go look for them."

Lily clung to Brandon's arm as he whisked her around the room, showing her off to all his friends.

_He seems to be friends with _everyone, Lily thought to herself, shocked at all the people her boyfriend seemed to be close acquaintances with.

At last, Brandon took her to a small table and conjured up two butterbeers. He uncorked it extravagantly and handed it to Lily with a wink, who giggled and accepted it graciously.

"It looks so beautiful in here," she breathed, looking once more at the copious decorations.

Brandon smiled at her warmly, taking her hand. "Yeah. We worked so hard on getting it just right, so everyone could enjoy it. I'm glad you do," he said, leaning into her.

Lily turned to face him. "You're so sweet," she replied, bringing her mouth up to his.

A few moments later, an irritating shriek shattered the moment. "Isn't that _adorable_ James? I can't _believe_ Brandon hasn't tried to do anything with her yet."

Lily pulled away from Brandon to glare at Juliana, but when she turned all she got was an eyeful of abundant cleavage.

Raising her eyes, Lily took in the sight that was Juliana Hernandez. Hernandez's dress robes were a shocking shade of scarlet with magenta ruffles sewn on so when Juliana moved, they fanned out attractively. The low neckline provided an enormous view on Juliana's breasts, something Lily really wasn't in the mood for herself, or Brandon for that matter, to be able to stare at the whole night long. Unfortunately, Juliana's vibrant if somewhat tasteless dress robes magnificently accentuated her  
cinnamon skin, and her espresso curls tumbled down her back gracefully.

The overall effect made Juliana absolutely gorgeous, and Lily felt envy coil within her dangerously as the eyes every boy that passed the four of them, regardless of whether or not they had a partner, became fixated to Juliana's chest as if to a magnet. True, Lily did not want the boys to be staring at her _own_ chest, but the fact that Juliana was getting the attention annoyed her. James, who was standing next to Julie, was certainly giving her more then enough interest by himself.

"I like your dress robes," Lily offered grudgingly. In her own opinion, the robes were much too form fitting and trashy, but she decided not to share this.

Juliana's bubbly laughter filled the air. "Thanks! I had them specially made in July. Most of my family's from South America, and they always have the most beautiful dresses there. Yours are nice too, but I'm pretty sure I saw them at that shop in Hogsmeade last weekend."

Humiliation filled Lily and she felt herself blushing. "Well, unlike most of the Seventh Years, I didn't learn about this dance till a couple weeks ago," she said through gritted teeth.

Juliana cocked her head. "A couple weeks ago?" she echoed, "I've known about it since at least fifth year! I was so excited to be able to finally attend I made preparations months in advance. Oh well. You look okay for someone who only knew about it for a few weeks."

Lily's already red face turned fuchsia as she tried not to attack Juliana. She watched with rage as Potter's already large grin grew twice the size of his face. He was actually _enjoying_ Lily's wrath. That bastard!

Taking a deep breath, Lily opened her mouth, but Juliana cut her off. "Is there something wrong, Lily? You should really try to calm yourself down; whenever you seem to get worked up your face turns that ugly shade of puce that really clashes with your hair."

James choked back his laughter as he watched steam almost pour out of Lily's ears. Hatred, fury, and disgust clouded Lily's eyes. Her bottle of butterbeer exploded and the contents went shooting out onto the front of Juliana's dress robes.

Juliana screeched wildly, pulling at the material in a way that exposed her chest even more than before. She ran over to the bathroom, trying as hard as she could to rub off the liquid with a napkin.

James called after her, "Julie! Wait!" but the Latina had already run into the bathroom, crying.

He rounded on Lily. "What was that for?!" he asked angrily, indicating to the remnants of the butterbeer bottle.

Lily gazed up at him innocently, sipping a new drink. "What? _I_ didn't do anything."

James rolled his eyes, exasperated. "Then explain the exploding butterbeer bottle."

Lily shrugged, smiling slightly about the look on Juliana's face when her dress had been soaked. "This is Hogwarts, Potter. Things happen. Maybe Peeves is invisible. Maybe the bottle was bewitched. Maybe Juliana's just not lucky."

"Luck had nothing to do with it. You got pissed at her and blew up the bottle on purpose, Evans, and you know it," James said, growing angrier by the minute.

Lily sighed, glad that _this_ time she was the calm one and James was upset. "Potter. Look. I didn't even touch the glass, nor pull out a wand. There wasn't anything I did, and blaming me for Juliana's misfortune and inappropriate attire isn't going to solve anything."

James glared at Lily but seemed at a loss for words.

She turned to Brandon, who was shaking with silent laughter. "Do you plan on ever asking me to dance?" she asked loftily. He nodded, his broad shoulders trembling with mirth, and led her out to the dance floor.

Sam strolled outside the party, looking around for Remus. The cool night air bit through the thin sleeves of her dress robes and she shivered involuntarily, desperate to get back inside.

A figure was standing at the edge of the balcony, hunched over and twirling his mask around in his hands. Ignoring the cold, Sam walked over to it, touching it lightly on the back.

Sirius turned around, his handsome face blank. "What?" he asked quietly, looking down at her.

Sam met his grey eyes. "Are you okay? You didn't come back in."

He shrugged, his face still unreadable. "Sorry. Just got distracted." He looked out onto the grounds, where the balcony overlooked. "It looks really pretty at night."

Sam walked over to the edge and looked over. Indeed, the picture before her was magical, the silver moonlight falling gently over the lake and trees. "Yea," she sighed. "It really is."

They stood there for a minute admiring the view, before Sam started shaking. Sirius turned to her. "Are you cold?"

Sam shook her head, her jaw starting to chatter.

"Here." Sirius pulled off his cloak and slung it around her shoulders.

_Oh, Lord._

"I can't take this . . ." Sam started, but Sirius cut her off with a wave of a hand.

"I insist. It's freezing out here," he commanded.

Sam nodded wordlessly, snuggling into it. It was heavy and warm and smelled like Sirius.

_He smells _amazing

Wrapping the cloak closer, Sam sighed and admired the beauty of the night, standing next to Sirius.

She glanced at him and subtly moved closer, hoping she wasn't being too obvious.

He let out a puff of air. "So what classes are you taking?"

Sam thought momentarily. "Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, and Arithmancy."

Sirius turned to her in mild disbelief. He studied her features intently (Sam felt herself growing nervous), before his face broke out into a huge smile, grey eyes twinkling.

"Those are all classes for training to be an Auror. You know that, right?"

Sam felt as if something had squeezed her windpipe. Of all the people to figure it out, it _had_ to be Sirius. "It is?" she asked, trying to sound surprised.

He nodded. "Yeah. Didn't you know that?"

Sam shook her head. "No, I didn't."

_You dirty little liar._

He shrugged, turning away.

Sam hesitated, before reluctantly saying, "Actually, yes. I was aware of my class choices."

Sirius looked at her, slightly confused. "You knew you were in potential Auror classes? Do you want to be an Auror or something?"

_Ah, well. You certainly didn't think no one would _ever_ find out, did you?_

"Yes. I do."

Sirius faced her completely, looking straight into her eyes. She fought to meet his gaze, refusing to blink.

"An Auror? You?" Clearly this wasn't something he, or anyone for that matter, had ever placed Sam under for the job description.

"Yes, me. Is that weird or something?"

He shrugged again. "I always saw you as more of a librarian or herbologist sort of person."

Sam visibly cringed.

Hastily, Sirius tried to redeem himself. "I didn't mean I thought you were _weak_ or anything. I just meant you never seemed the overly assertive Auror type."

Sam turned away, laughing softly. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

_There's a lot no one knows about me._

He touched her shoulder. Sam looked up at him through her hair.

"Sam-" he started.

"_There_ you two are!"

Melanie, with Remus in tow, came walking through the door out onto the balcony.

Sirius jumped back, while Sam stood still, dumbstruck.

"Why are you wearing his cloak?" Melanie asked, indicating to the garment draped over Sam's shoulders. Sam took it off immediately, shoving it unceremoniously back to Sirius.

"I was cold," she said quietly by way of explanation.

Mel looked at her confusedly for a moment, then let apparently it go. "Come on," she chirped to Sirius, "let's go dance!"

"If I have to," he complained jokingly, taking her arm and leading her out to the dance floor.

Sam turned to Remus, who smiled at her gently. "Wanna dance?" he asked.

Sam nodded, hugging him slightly. "Let's go."


	12. Ringo and Paul: Reluctant Rabbits

_**Turning Saints Into the Sea**___

Chapter Twelve: Ringo and Paul: Reluctant Rabbits

Melanie pushed a long, blue lock of hair out of her face irritably. She had been practicing for three nonstop hours on Memory Charms _(Obliviate_!) but all she'd been able to do to the couple of rabbits sitting in front of her was make them hop into things. She wasn't sure whether or not they did this from lack of memory, since they didn't strike her as particularly intelligent creatures.

_Okay, _focus_, Owen!_

Assuming the correct stance, Melanie summoned all the anger and frustration in her body before leaping forward and shrieking, "_Obliviate_!"

The rabbit on the left was thrown back from the spell and hit the wall, where it fell to the ground, squeaking piercingly.

Gasping, Melanie ran over to the rabbit, calming it down. It regained its composure in a matter of seconds, bounding over to its mate and resumed eating the lettuce.

_Why are we practicing Memory Charms on _rabbits_? It's not like their attention span is more than a couple minutes._

A knock on the door caused her to whirl around. It was after midnight in an empty classroom; who else would be awake at this hour?

"It's open," she called.

Remus Lupin tentatively stepped inside the room.

Her body jolted as if she had just touched a bare wire, but pleasantly so, and she felt her face heat. "Hey! What are you doing here?" she babbled, incredibly aware of how his eyes flew over her body, taking in her disheveled appearance with slight humor.

"I was patrolling the halls and heard you scream. What are you doing up so late?" he questioned, walking towards her.

Melanie edged away. "I can't get the Memory Charm right and the test is tomorrow. I can't manage to fail another assignment in Charms."

Remus pulled out his wand. "Okay, since we're practicing on animals instead of people, the effects will be slightly different. For example, an Obliviated animal will tend to just slump over, aimlessly staring into space, but that's what most animals do. You can truly tell when you shine a light in their eyes and their pupils don't dilate."

Melanie looked confused. "What does the dilation of pupils have to do with Memory Charms?"

Remus thought for a moment. "Animals don't really retain very much information. At least not in comparison to humans. The charm on their brains knocks out common bodily functions, such as the ability to move major muscles or breathe very well, or as I said, the dilation of pupils."

Melanie was shocked. "That's horrible! We're basically taking away the will to live of these poor creatures."

Remus shrugged. "If you want to pass the class, you do the work. That's how I see it."

He turned to face the parchment, a grimly concentrated look on his face. Melanie watched him intently.

_Damn, he's tall._

Indeed, Remus towered over her 5'9" frame. To Melanie, this was a novelty. Sirius was taller than her by a mere two inches, while Remus had a good five or six over her. She felt a smile work its way on her face as she imagined having to actually reach to kiss him.

"_Obliviate_!" he cried, twirling his wand around in a complicated manner. The rabbit on the right looked stunned for a second then slouched over.

He turned back to her, a proud smile on his face, and said, "See? You just have to focus."

_Like I'll be able to focus with _you_ in the room._

"Thanks," Mel said, grinning at him. He fidgeted awkwardly, shrugging off her words and backing up before hitting a desk, which tilted dangerously.

Fixing it, Remus stammered, "It's no big deal. You try."

Melanie turned to the rabbits and, picturing the impressed look on Remus' face, performed the spell.

The remaining rabbit jumped out of the way as the spell flew past it. Melanie groaned, stamping her foot and throwing her braid over her shoulder.

"I was so close! Why did it have to move?"

Remus looked at her curiously, walking over. "Well, you don't seem to be very intent on hitting the rabbit. Are you okay?"

_I'd be one hell of a lot better if you'd stop standing to damn close._

"I don't want to hurt the rabbit," Melanie said, glad her excuse was half true.

Remus nodded. "Ah. Well, I suppose for this spell emotional detachment is crucial. You can't think of the rabbit as a creature with a soul or memory, more of an object."

Melanie looked at the rabbit gloomily.

A smile started at the corner of Remus' mouth. "You didn't name them, did you?"

_Um. . ._

Reluctantly, Melanie revealed, "The one on the right is Ringo, and the one on the left is Paul."

Remus' smile broadened. "Ringo and Paul? You mean like the Beatles?"

Melanie smiled too. "Yeah. My dad's a huuuge Beatles fan. I grew up listening to them. I have an emotional connection to the band members, so whenever I name stuff they usually jump to mind."

Remus rolled his eyes, laughing. He leaned against a desk casually and took off his robes, pushing up the sleeves on his shirt. His lower arms were thin but muscular, with veins running all up and down them. She wasn't sure why, but Melanie found his arms extremely arousing.

"So try to think of Ringo and Paul as objects number one and two, instead of their names. Don't think about anything else but obliviating all their memories," Remus instructed her. "Now assume the position."

Melanie obediently sank into an odd stance, sticking her arm out and watching Paul — or object number two.

"Okay, here's where your problem is," Remus said, coming over to her and adjusting her body. "Your elbow is too straight. Why are you so stiff?"

Melanie stared at Remus, his statement ringing through her head. She took a deep breath, trying not to laugh.

Remus thought about what he'd said, then sighed exasperatedly. "Okay, can I say anything without it being interpreted as a sexual innuendo?"

Melanie burst out laughing, her knees buckling. She leaned onto him slightly, pressing her head against his shoulder as she tried to regain composure.

She eventually raised her head, realizing at that moment how close they were. Her hands were on his shoulders, her body almost pressed up against his and her face a mere four inches from his.

He was looking down at her. She couldn't look away. His eyes were just so . . . hypnotizing.

_Hypnotizing . . ._

A memory of that night flashed in her mind in fraction-of-a-second segments.

_"Happy Valentine's Day!"_

Welcoming embraces.

Tender kisses.

Everlasting love.

"There's someone else."

Sudden change.

"Someone else?"

Heartbreaking agony.

All-consuming hatred.

Bitter rejection.

End of relationship.

Melanie broke away from Remus quickly. "It's late. I should be getting some sleep," she muttered, fighting tears.

"Mel?" he asked, coming towards her. She pushed him away gently.

"No. Thanks for your help," she said, her voice breaking as she packed up all her books and sprinted to the Common Room.

As she climbed the steps frantically to her dorm room, the tears starting falling down her face defiantly and she felt her throat close.

Flinging open the door to her room, Mel put all her stuff away and collapsed on her bed. She drew the curtains, pulled her comforter around tightly, and cried quietly, the hurt from that night still etched in her heart.

The next morning, Lily was sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast. She spooned a scoop of oatmeal into her mouth, before gagging and spitting it out; _much_ too hot for her taste.

"Hey, Lily," Remus said, sitting down next to her and toasting a slice of bread with his wand.

"Good morning," she greeted, handing him a pat of butter, which she knew he liked on his toast.

"Thanks," he said. "I wanted to talk to you about Mel."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Mel? Not Sam?"

"Yeah. I know it sounds weird, but . . ."

"No questions asked," Lily agreed. "What's the problem?"

"Yesterday I walked in on her practicing the Memory Charm during rounds. I helped her with it and we were having a pretty good time, but out of the blue she basically closed up and ran out of the room as fast as possible. I don't think I did anything wrong, but I'd hate to have done something unintentionally that would make her hate me," Remus confessed unevenly.

Lily thought for a moment. "What exactly were you doing when she started acting weird?"

Remus groaned inwardly. What had happened wasn't something he had wanted to divulge to anyone, even Lily. "She'd been laughing at this thing I said and kind of hugged/fell on top of me and then she looked up and then she got this weird look on her face and ran out," he said quietly and in a rush.

Lily looked confused, before a knowing expression dawned on her. "What color are your eyes?"

Remus, caught off-guard, stuttered, "I-I don't know. Hazel? Brown?"

"Brown," Lily said sadly. "And they'd probably look very dark in the dim lighting last night. Ah, Remus, it wasn't anything you did that bothered Mel. You just reminded her of Mitchell."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Mitchell?"

Lily glanced around the table before leaning in, her voice lowered. "Mitchell Bradslain. Her ex-boyfriend. He had really dark eyes that she just absolutely adored and . . . well . . . every time she sees them they still remind her of him."

"Mitchell Bradslain . . . Isn't he that 7th year she was dating last year? I thought they broke up a while ago," Remus asked.

"They did," Lily explained, "Mel just never really got over it. He really, really hurt her."

Remus felt the chill in Lily's voice as she talked. It was as if the topic was forbidden, and it pained her to mention it out of courtesy of Melanie.

"What did he do?" Remus probed. "I knew it was really bad but all I heard were rumors. Really wild ones."

Lily's face clouded. It was evident she had never forgiven Mitchell for what he did to Melanie. "Mitchell was incredibly nice to Melanie during their relationship. Sweet and attentive; everything a boyfriend should be. She truly fell head-over-heels in love with him, and they dated for a little over eight months. On St. Valentine's Day he broke up with her. He told her there was someone else and that was the end of it. No explanation, no 'I'm sorry,'."

Remus was silent, shocked that any person would do something like that, especially to Melanie. "And he never said who the other girl was?"

"No," Lily sighed, "He didn't. I wish he had though. They would have been so dead-"

"Hey, guys," Sam said, sitting down next to Remus-who gave her a quick peck on the cheek-and started eating a bowl of corn flakes. "What were you talking about so passionately, Lily?"

"About Mel and Mitchell's breakup," she said sadly, grabbing an orange.

Sam visibly stiffened. "What about it?" she asked shakily.

"Just how the bastard never even told Mel who he cheated on her with," Lily said, lazily peeling the fruit with her wand. "I wonder who it was . . ."

"Probably someone who already graduated," Sam said quickly. "How did this come up in conversation?"

Remus scrambled up. "I really need to be finishing up my homework," he said loudly, hurrying away. "See you guys later."

Lily and Sam sat in a stunned silence as they watched Remus depart. ". . . That was weird," Sam drawled suspiciously. "How did it come up in conversation, anyway?"

Lily shrugged. "He said that Melanie had started acting weird around him and wondered if he'd offended her in any way. I told him she'd probably been thinking of Mitchell and the breakup." Lily chewed her orange thoughtfully. "I can't believe it still bothers her."

Sam shrugged. "Breakups can really scar a person."

"Yeah." Lily finished up her orange and smiled. "We should be getting to class. It's almost nine." Sam nodded in agreement and the friends walked out of the Great Hall, to the Charms test no one was prepared for.


	13. Once

_**Turning Saints Into the Sea**___

Chapter Thirteen: Once

December 25 was approaching quickly, and Lily had absolutely no idea what she was going to get anyone. She was lazily going over her list of things to buy in Hogsmeade this weekend, still not 100 sure about any of them:

Samantha: that pretty gold embossed parchment she's been admiring  
Melanie: book on do-it-yourself beauty tips  
Brandon: anything over ten Galleons at the Quidditch store  
Remus: whatever's new at the bookstore  
Peter: a wristwatch  
Sirius: something perverse.  
James: . . .

James. Oh God. What in the world was she going to get James, the one whom she'd despised for roughly the past six years? A new quill? Lettering? Please.

She let her head fall backwards on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Did she really _need_ to get him a gift? It wasn't like he was getting _her_ anything . . .

Or was he?

As if on cue, James walked through the Heads' Common room portrait entrance, calling, "Hey, Lily, what do you want for Christmas?"

Lily sat up. "Why?" she asked suspiciously, afraid to get her hopes up and assume he was in fact getting her something.

James walked over to the couch, a few Chocolate Frogs in his hand, and sat down. He tossed her one and said sarcastically, "Well, Brandon and I just had the _loveliest_ lunch date and he had asked me, since we were getting to be such good friends, what I was getting you, and I told him I didn't know, it was between some cherry-flavored lollipops and Scotland."

Lily laughed, unwrapping her Frog and giving the card to James, who pocketed it. "I wanted to know what to get you," he explained unnecessarily. "What do you want? Books, perfume, candy. . ."

"I don't know," Lily said seriously through a mouthful of chocolate, "Scotland's looking pretty good right now."

"Touché," James complimented. "Seriously, though."

Lily thought for a moment. "I really don't know. A new spell book would be nice, but I already have so many of those. I'm a sucker for those little crystal mobile things. . . Sort of an emotional connection with the way the light reflects off them. My dad had one back when I was little."

James shrugged. "Alright. I'll get you one of those."

Lily gasped. "No, those would be so expensive! You shouldn't spend all that money on me."

"Why not? I have the money, and I'd rather get you something you enjoyed than a cheesy little knick-knack. Consider it a gift to make up for the past six years," James said, throwing her another Frog.

"The past six years?" Lily echoed, confused.

"Yeah." James gathered his thoughts while he unwrapped his third Frog. "I'm sorry that I was such a tool to you in the past, asking you out and harassing you. It was so immature and stupid, and I wish I could take it back."

Lily was shocked. "You do?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I can't believe that I sunk to that level. I never will again, that's for sure."

A silence followed James' statement, and Lily coughed, changing the subject, "What are you getting Julie?"

James froze for a second and glanced up at her, a _you-don't-want-to-know_ grin slowly creeping up his face.

Lily felt herself starting to blush. "What? What is it? Is it _that_ bad??"

James' _you-don't-want-to-know_ smile turned into a _you-_really_-don't-want-to-know_ smile, and Lily stood up, disgusted.

"I'm going for a walk," she sputtered moodily, thoughts of all the raunchy things James could possibly be getting Hernandez flashing through her mind. 

James, laughing, half-heartedly called out, "Evans, don't go. . ." but Lily had already slammed the portrait hole.

As he chuckled to himself quietly, a portrait in the room who had been listening to the whole conversation asked, "What _are_ you getting Julie?"

James grinned. "A new book bag."

The wind was cruel as it sliced through the students walking through Hogsmeade. Lily, Melanie, and Samantha in particular were freezing to the bone without the proper garments to wear.

"Let's go into the Three Broomsticks," Melanie called over the wind, dragging the trio into the pub, which was crowded and well-lit.

They found a table next to the window and ordered three scalding butterbeers.

Melanie looked onto the streets. "It's so pretty outside."

"It's pretty, but bitter," Sam added. "The wind makes it terrible."

"I hear what you're saying — ah, the drinks!" Lily said, taking the mugs from Madame Rosmerta.

Drinking deeply, the friends sat for a moment enjoying the silence and each other's company — until four seconds later, when with a loud _BOOM!_ the doors to the Three Broomsticks smashed open and the four Marauders paraded in.

Sam rolled her eyes at them, taking another sip. "What are they doing here?"

Melanie stared at them in mild amusement. "Why are they so obnoxious?"

Indeed, the four were acting ridiculous. James and Sirius both had charmed the numerous bags filled with Christmas presents to hover behind them, but the spells were performed sloppily and the parcels were colliding with anything in their way: walls, people, each other. Remus was remarkably more reserved, but there was still an odd glint in his eye that suggested he wasn't as innocent as he seemed. And Peter was Peter, tagging along and grinning, happy to be out with his friends.

"Mel!" Sirius yelled suddenly, leading the other three over to the table where Melanie, Lily, and Sam had been sitting. He slid into the seat next to Mel, pressing a quick but firm kiss on her lips and settling in with his arm casually draped around her shoulders.

Sam glanced uneasily at their casual affection for each other, then kissed Remus' cheek and took his hand. She saw Sirius watching them out of the corner of her eye.

James sat directly across from Lily and grinned at her, placing is packages on the ground.

Lily felt uneasy; she was a little more than acutely aware that she was a little more than acutely aware of exactly how the cold and wind made James look. Years previously, how she looked at James Potter didn't even faze her, but more recently she had been noticing how often she glanced his way. Denying that she cared about his appearance only made her looking, or _not_ looking, that much more obvious.

"What did you buy?" Sirius asked Melanie playfully, digging through her own bags.

She swatted at him. "Get away from there. It ruins the surprise if you see it early."

His eyes lit up. "So you _did_ get me something!" He resumed searching through the parcels.

Melanie rolled her eyes, placing the bags on the other side of her.

James leaned across the table. "What are you three doing in Hogsmeade?" he asked Lily directly.

Gazing up at his face once, Lily sipped daintily at her butterbeer before responding, "Christmas shopping of course. I also had to get a dress for my sister's eighteenth birthday; there's going to be this huge party, seeing that it's Petunia, and I don't want to be unprepared."

He looked mildly interested as he reached across the table for her mug. Taking a swig, he asked, "When's the party?"

"December 26," Lily responded, taking back her mug.

James frowned. "So you won't be staying over Christmas Break?"

Lily shook her head. "I'll be staying till around five Christmas Day, and then I'll Apparate home for a couple days. I should be back the 27th, early 28th at the latest."

He nodded. "I'm going to see my parents for a day too. Having an Apparation license has made staying in touch that much easier."

Lily nodded in agreement. She looked over at the bar, frowning. "There seem to be a lot of men in dark cloaks here today," she commented.

James laughed. "This _is_ a magical village, Evans. Occasionally, men in dark cloaks do turn up here. It's not really something they can help."

Lily laughed weakly too, trying to ease the sudden feeling of anxiety that washed over her.

A little while later, while one of the waitresses was handing the men their drinks, one of the cloaked men said loudly, "I'm not drinking this with all your Mudblood filth on it."

A hush fell over the room. Heads turned in indignant astonishment to the speaker.

The waitress, a young girl barely out of school, blushed furiously and stammered quietly, "I-I can get you a different mug if you'd like, sir. . ."

Not bothering to keep his voice down, the man said, "I don't want a different _cup_, I want a different _server_, one who won't soil my food."

Humiliated, the waitress mumbled something about talking to the owner, than ran out of the room with tears in her eyes.

The room buzzed angrily, offended by the man's vulgar talk. Lily turned back, her own ears red from embarrassment and infuriation.

Sirius looked stricken. "I think we'd better leave," he said seriously.

James nodded, frowning. "It would be better if we got out of here."

While the group was packing up, the manager, a stout old man with a bristling mustache, came out from the back and hustled over to the group of men furiously. "I will not tolerate your language or your group in my restaurant! I demand that you leave immediately!"

The men stood slowly, intimidating the man. "What?" the leader asked silkily.

The old man stood his ground, refusing to be moved. "I said, _leave my restaurant_!"

The leader suddenly whipped out his wand, and with a flick of his wrist sent the old man flying across the room.

Sirius stood, his wand drawn. "Hey!" he cried.

A few other people stood up, brandishing wands. The other hooded men all joined their leader, forming a tight circle. With all the robes looking the same, it was hard to tell where one man stopped and another began.

A shout of "_Crucio_!" came from the group of men and suddenly, the air was filled with sparks, screams, and hexes. Lily and the rest of the group sprang up, pulling out their wands and shouting curses at the men.

Sirius, jumping over a table, cornered one rather short hooded man against a wall. He screamed, "_Expelliarmus_!" shooting him into a wall. The man slammed against it, crumpling on the ground. A thrill of adrenaline shot through Sirius and he turned, exhilarated, to fend off another man.

As he hurried to help, he saw Sam watching the scene from a corner, an oddly blank look on her face. Dodging a hex, Sirius ran to Sam to see how she was holding up.

"Are you okay?" he yelled over the noise. Sam looked up at him quickly and nodded. "Yeah. Give me a minute," she said normally, waving Sirius off.

His face twisted. "What are you doing?" he bellowed. "Either help or leave! You can't stay here if you won't fight!"

As if shaken from a daze, Sam turned to face him, a look of pure hatred on her pretty face. Sirius felt the look like a blow, taking a step back to absorb its impact. He'd never seen Sam looking so . . . _anything_ before.

"I am going to fight," she said stiffly, anger blazing from her eyes.

Getting over her malicious look, Sirius rolled his eyes. "Then get out there! You can't spend your entire life watching, Sam!"

The only way Sirius could describe Sam's reaction to his statement was like a volcanic eruption. He watched with some satisfaction as her face scrunched up tighter and tighter as she got madder and madder until she didn't even resemble herself anymore and then — it was gone. All the fury that had been etched into every line in Sam's face vanished, as if a giant cloth had wiped away all emotion from her.

Staring away from Sirius as if he wasn't even there, she nimbly jumped over the fallen table. Landing in front of a hooded man, who turned to look at her and laughed, Sam cried, "_Relego!_"

A flash from her wand aimed towards the man sent him flying through the air and smashed through a wall.

Sirius' mouth fell open as Sam turned to face him, her face touched with slight amusement. "Hell hath no fury," she said softly, slipping off into the rest of the fight.

Sirius watched her leave, his mouth still agape. For some odd reason, he felt as if he had never seen the real Sam until this very moment.

James felt the sweat pour down his neck as he battled man after man, not sure when it was going to end. He wiped his brow hastily, trying to regain composure.

A cry made him whip around. James watched in horror as the leading man in the group sent a stream of blue light straight for Lily's heart. The beam caught her dead center, flinging her on her back.

His heart in his throat, James ran over to her as fast as he could, forgetting about the chaos around him.

"Lily!" he said, lifting her head frantically. "Are you okay? Lily, say something!"

She opened her eyes groggily, taking a couple seconds to focus on him. "Potter?" she slurred. "Whas goin' on?"

Without a second though, James lifted up her body in his arms. Adrenaline pulsed through him as he carried her outside the Three Broomsticks, where to his horror the fight had accumulated. The streets were lit with spells and colorful language.

The initial rush wearing off quickly, James moved quickly, trying to keep Lily and himself from becoming a target for open fire. He scanned the shops anxiously, looking for the place he knew Lily would be safe.

"Thank God," he thought, running around the back of Honeydukes and using the rear entrance. Once inside the store, he ran down into the cellar, Lily's dead weight extremely heavy in his tired arms.

He placed Lily down on a crate, magicked a blanket around her, and turned to go when a hand shot out and latched onto his arm.

"Where you goin'?" Lily asked, trying to form coherent sentences.

"I have to go help fight, Lily," he explained, attempting patience.

She turned frenzied. "Don't leave me!" she screamed, clawing to get closer to him. "Please! Don't!"

James was confused. "Why not?"

Lily's eyes darted around wildly and James wondered how lucid she was after the spell. "It's d-dark in here," she whispered fearfully. "And . . . quiet."

Something clicked in James' mind. _Oh no. She has those phobias. Sedatephobia and lygo-something or another. Now what. . ._

"Lily," he said, prying his arm loose, "I will be back when the fight is over. Now _please_ just stay in here. You can hide in between these boxes." He indicated to two crates next to each other.

She looked at them, shaking her head furiously. "No! I can't!"

James groaned, looking heavenward. "Why not?"

A moment of silence elapsed, and James looked down to see Lily. Her face was chalky white, her red hair disheveled, her green eyes erratic. "They'll come and find me," she said quietly. "I know they will."

"Who will?"

She stared at him. "_Them_"

James put his arm around her shoulders, leading her over to the boxes. "Lily," he said as soothingly as possible, "You have to sit here for just a little while." He sat her down firmly between the boxes, kissed her quickly on the forehead, then sprinted up the stairs for the door.

Lily struggled to stand, screaming hysterically, "No! James! Please don't leave me! JAMES!"

James shut the door behind him, leaning against it for a second. Her cries echoed through his head, her frightened face carved into his memory. Shaking his head to clear it, he raced out of Honeydukes to fight.

Back in the cellar, Lily scrunched as far down as she could between the boxes. She felt the waves of nausea start to pound in her gut, threatening to overtake her, and attempted to take a few deep breaths, trying to concentrate on not concentrating on the darkness surrounding her.

And the silence. The awful, dreaded silence.

Lily felt herself start to shake, her heart pounding in her ears as she tried again to draw breath. The room was already spinning, and though she suddenly felt unbearably cold, sweat started seeping through her shirt.

Terror overwhelming her, Lily felt hot tears pool in her eyes. She squeezed them shut, whispering, "Hurry."

_Thank God._

James slowed his sprint to a hasty walk as he approached the Three Broomsticks, where the fight had thankfully stopped. He spotted Sam, Sirius, and Remus all kneeling around Melanie in front of the pub. Mel seemed to be fighting off tears as Remus tended to a wound on her side.

"What happened?" James gasped, looking at the gash.

Sirius, who was holding Mel's hand, said quietly, "Melanie was momentarily distracted, and the man who she was fighting pulled out a knife and stabbed her. It was so unexpected; she didn't have time to jump out of the way."

"She's going to need to go to the hospital wing," Remus said seriously, scooping her up in his arms. He paused, seeming to rethink this move, then gently gave Melanie to Sirius.

Sirius staggered for a second, and then caught his balance, heading up to the castle. Sam and Remus trailed behind, both trying to help and console Melanie at the same time.

James started to follow, but after a few steps realized that the whole scene was bathed in an odd green-ish light. Fearing what he might see, he turned slowly.

Above the Three Broomsticks, the Dark Mark blazed. The skull's evil face and the snake twisting its way around it grinning viscously down at him.

His heart in his throat, James turned to catch up to his friends.

Lily felt her muscles cramping from staying in the same position for so long, but as painful as sitting down was, the irrational fear of what else was in the basement overpowered her discomfort.

How long had it been? She couldn't imagine. It seemed to be days since James had left her. . . Did he remember he left her there? What if he never came to get her? Would she be stuck here forever?

_Don't think like that. Of course he'll come and get you. And if he doesn't, you can always just get up yourself._

As Lily surveyed the dark room, she knew that her last thought was in vain; there was no way she would ever get up.

A sudden knock sounded from the floor, under a rug. It sounded like something was coming up from beneath.

Lily's heart, which had just started calming down, sprang into action twice as fast as it had been. She felt her body start to tremble in panic.

The rug started lifting as if by magic. After a second, Lily realized it wasn't the rug that was lifting, but a trapdoor under the rug. A dark figure hoisted itself out from the trapdoor, replacing the rug neatly.

"_Lumos_." James Potter lit his wand.

A cry of relief erupted from Lily's chest, causing James to hurry over to her.

"Lily!" he lamented, "I'm so sorry for leaving you! I didn't want to, but they needed my help out there and . . ." James looked down at her between the boxes. "Did you move an inch from where I left you?"

Lily felt the tears trickling down her cheeks as she gazed up at him. She shook her head quickly.

James' face softened. "Ah, Evans . . ." He put down his wand and, grabbing her gently from under her shoulders, lifted her onto her feet.

Lily's legs ached and when he set her down, quivered uncontrollably. She collapsed against James as they gave out, weeping.

"Oh, James, I was so scared! I though you'd leave me here forever," she sobbed. James sat down on a box and pulled her onto his lap where she curled into a ball, burying her face in his neck. He put his arms around her, holding her.

"I knew, I just _knew_ that they were out there and going to get me and I didn't want them to find me and then you left to go fight and I realized that those - those _things_ out there were far more horrible and you and Sam and Melanie and Remus and Sirius were going to get killed and all I could do was sit here and . . . and . . . oh, James!" Lily cried, huddling herself deeper into his chest.

"I'd never abandon you," James murmured soothingly, stroking her back. "Never."


End file.
